Neoteric
by White Replica
Summary: A new year? Four friends, and one enemy, are brought to the only accredited school of villainy. The catch: they know everything about it. Fairly crack-ish, upcoming plot, based on real story from The Nook.
1. The Thresh Ascunsion Academy

**Haha! New story! Heh, I haven't been here for a long time. Stupid Internet roaches and their toxic slime _ :D**

**Note this: this was how me and my fellow HIVE friends were. To an extent. Obviously, I made the entire thing funnier. Duh. And some of the teachers are actually our teachers in real life.  
**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.  
**

* * *

"—_We're going to do such great things together."_

A book slammed closed; someone had just finished reading a book. The girl grinned widely, and started rolling on her bed like a crazed dog. She sounded like one too.

"Finally…. _Finally._" She kept on saying, her long black hair sticking to her face. She hadn't bothered tying it, as it was still wet. She had stopped rolling, though she still held an insane look. She kept on repeating those words, until there was a knock on the door of the room she was in.

"What?" she asked irritatedly, and a scared fourth grader gave her a recently lost and found Math book.

"Thank you." She said gratefully, then she closed the door.

The girl sighed, flouncing to a close table and setting the book there. She plopped onto the bed, her hair spreading like a spider's web. She closed her eyes, as if she was sleeping, but in reality, she was daydreaming. School was cut short due to some strange meeting that the principal issued to the teachers.

So she spent her time daydreaming.

About her favorite book.

About the Higher Institute of Villainous Education, an institute she dreamed of going to.

* * *

The next day, her bus came by to pick her up and drag her to the completely tedious and dull place called school. Strangely enough, she did very well there. Though that didn't mean she enjoyed doing so.

After a minute or so, her friend got down the stairs, out the dorm and to the bus. They had a lot in common, one of them being the interest in H.I.V.E.

"Good morning Taia." Her friend said in a British accent, though they both knew she was Filipino. Taia's friend just liked the Brits.

"Hey Julie." The other replied, giving her customary wave with two fingers together. "So… hath ye finished ye booke named Escape Velocity?" she asked

"Yes." Julie replied bluntly. Suddenly, she broke into quiet laughter. "I felt so giddy on this page!" she said, showing Taia the page with the scene where Shelby had called Wing cute. Taia laughed.

"Of course you did."

Another friend and bus mate of theirs, Tammy Palmiano, jumped into the conversation. "I'm finished with the second book already, so I'll give it to you tomorrow." She said. "Thanks." Taia replied. "Can I borrow the second book?" another bus mate, Mel San Augustin asked.

"Is it okay if I hand her the book?" Tammy asked.

"Fine." Taia said. "But I'm beginning to miss my second H.I.V.E."

* * *

When they stalked off to school, due to their school bus breaking down, they were surprised to bump into a strangely sexy male. This was strange, due to the fact that they didn't meet many sexy males in their school. Most of them just weren't. Or they were gay. Taia thought that was just awesome.

They hadn't met a sexy male teacher in their school.

Especially not one that looked like a certain book character.

Especially not Wing. An older version, at least

"Holy Ff—" "Fohoho!" Julie said, clamping her hand over Taia's mouth. "Um, hello." The man said quietly. "Can you tell me where the principal's office is?"

"S-sure." Tammy stammered, leading the way. As they marched through the halls, they (not including Tammy, who led the way) hurriedly talked behind Wing's back.

"What is Wing doing here?!" Taia whispered. "Maybe you're overreacting." Mel said, though she sounded unsure of herself. "Of course I'm not overreacting!" Taia almost exclaimed.

"We have to be open to all options." Julie said smartly. "Maybe this is just a look-alike of Wing Fanchu."

"It's a very good look-alike then." Taia countered. "Honestly, if we're to be open to all suggestions, then we have to accept the possibility of this really being Wing, but only a few years older. We also have to accept the possible fact that H.I.V.E. could actually exist, and is looking for recruits, that's why Wing's here."

"Will you stop calling him Wing?" Mel asked. "Besides, we don't even know his name yet."

"Thank you." The man said, when they arrived to the principal's office. There were a couple of other teachers there, looking a tad bit nervous.

"Um… sir? What's happening here?" Mel asked.

"Oh, your school is recruiting teachers, you see. We," he said, referring to the crowd of teachers. "Are the new recruits, though we still have to be inaugurated as teachers."

"Oh, well, good luck then." Julie said.

"What's your name though?" Taia asked, before anyone could stop her. The man turned to her with a small smile.

"I'm Wing Fanchu. I hope to be your teacher. You four seem very bright." He said politely, and before they could say anything, they were shooed away by other teachers.

* * *

"I told you! I _told _you!" Taia exclaimed, when they reached their first break. "We get it!" Julie exclaimed, hitting the other on the head.

"So what if that person _happens _to look like Wing and _happens _to share his name?! Big deal!" said Tammy, but there was doubt in her own statement. Taia fumed.

"But really! Don't you think that this could be a discovery of a lifetime? What if H.I.V.E. really does exist? What if the Fabulous Four existed as well? Don't you think this could—"

"Taia."

Their Art and Homeroom teacher passed by, calling her name.

"I need you to bring some of our new teachers around during break time, if you could. You three could come as well," she said, referring to her friends. "As long as you don't mess around, I'm giving you the liberty of going to unauthorized areas without being punished for it."

"Yes ma'am." They replied in unison, turning to the new teachers. There were eight of them, and four of them very much stood out.

"Holy crap." Was all they could say.

* * *

"New teachers?"

Two best friends, Lizette and Melo, were conversing casually, when Melo brought up he subject of the new teachers.

"I know right? It's pretty cool, actually. I passed by one of them, and MAN, they were so awesome!" Melo said, waving her arms to emphasize their "awesome-ness". "I'm pretty sure that they were from different countries, because I heard them speaking with different accents. Plus, I honestly think that one of them bleached his hair white! He's so blonde that it's like pure snow!"

"Is that even allowed here?" asked Lizette. She had her limits when it came to things like that.

"I don't really know, but if they allowed it here, that either means that the hair-bleaching is allowed, or he's got albinism." Melo replied.

"Hmm… a teacher with albinism. That'll be interesting. Do you think that they'll be teaching the seventh graders?"

"Don't think so." Said Melo. "If they're new, I'm pretty sure that the system would put them somewhere easy, like the first grade."

"If that's true, then I feel sorry for them." Lizette said, pushing her long hair back. "Those stumps are more dangerous than people think."

Suddenly, a strange blur of tan, green, and black passed by, and stopped in front of them. It was Taia, looking as if she was running away.

Just maybe.

"If Julie or anyone else looks for me, tell them— tell them that I'm in a bathroom with a cow!" she said rather hurriedly, and most likely, she didn't even know what she said.

"But why—"

"TAIA COME BACK HERE AND DON'T YOU DARE BRING OUT YOUR STALKING EQUIPMENT!" was the loud exclamation that came from the other end of the corridor. At those words, Taia took off as fast as she could to the next building.

"But—er, Taia's not going to bring out her stalking equipment!" Lizette said quickly, as Julie, Mel, and Tammy rushed past them. When Julie halted rather suddenly, they all fell, as she was in the front of the line.

"She's—er… going to get the stuff she left in the library!" Melo said, straying off Taia's bizarre excuse. Julie gave them a hard death glare, and they crumbled.

"She's off to get her equipment." Lizette said. Julie gave her a small 'thank you', and ran off to Taia's secret storeroom of spying equipment.

A few buildings later, Julie, Mel, and Tammy caught up with Taia.

"I told you not to bring them out!" her friends shouted. Julie gave her a special, hard smack on the head, which somehow, Taia withstood.

"But I have a feeling that it's really them! It could be the Fabulous Four!" she exclaimed. She dodged another fatal hit to the head.

"They could just be look-alikes, you know." Julie said seriously. "But—"

Before Taia could say anything, a bell rang throughout the school. That signaled that their break was over, and Taia's chance of stalking them was over as well.

"Aww man! Why'd you stop me?!" Taia exclaimed.

"Because it would be most likely that you would start another riot between the students and the student council like you did last February." Julie said irritably. Before Taia could retort, their teacher entered the room. It was Math time, and they all HATED Math time. Their teacher was not boring, she was the devil's messenger (according to Taia) off to torture little children into insanity by using numbers and equations.

Julie just thought that Taia hated it since she was bad at it.

However, a sweet change came upon the classroom, when a pretty blonde girl entered the room. They hadn't expected that.

"Good afternoon everyone. My name is Miss Shelby Trinity, and I will be your new Math teacher from now on." She said kindly, and they all stood agape.

"I'm sad to say that won't be teaching anymore, due to her retirement as a sixty-year-old teaching veteran. However, I hope you won't mind me being here. I'll do the best I can to help all of you learn and have fun with Mathematics."

It was an obviously well-rehearsed speech, but it still caught the eye of most of the students. Others (mostly the boys) were just goggling at the teacher.

* * *

"She's a really good teacher."

Taia, Julie, Tammy and Mel surrounded one table, as they waited for the next teacher to come. There had always been a five-minute break between Math and Science classes, since Miss Carpio had to teach in another school building, and had to walk the entire way to their classroom. No one minded though.

However, before any of the four friends could reply, the teacher entered the room, four minutes earlier than anyone had expected.

Firstly, his hair was white.

It almost went downhill from there.

"OHMIGOD IT'S OTT—" Taia was muffled once more, this time by four hands. No one seemed to have noticed them, as they were at the back of the room.

"Good afternoon," he said. "My name is Mister Otto Malpense, and I will be filling in for your Science teacher, as she is on maternal leave. I hope you won't mind my teaching." He said rather sheepishly.

"First, I would like all of you to ask anything about me." He said casually. Taia was almost going to raise her hand, when Julie put it down.

"Nothing. About. HIVE." She said, and Taia pouted.

"Why is you hair white?" one of their classmates asked. Otto chuckled.

"It's because of my albinism. At a young age, my hair was already white. That would also explain the pale complexion and blue eyes." He explained briefly.

"Are you a Veela?" asked another student.

"No I am not a Veela, but thank you for thinking that I am one." He replied kindly.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" asked one of the female students, and almost everyone giggled. Almost.

"Sadly enough, no, but I do have a few female friends on my side." He said. Taia grinned.

"Of course he does," she whispered to Tammy, her seatmate, from the giggling of the teenage girls. "Laura and Shelby, that's who."

"Would you quit it with the HIVE?" Tammy asked pleadingly, but Taia shook her head.

After the quick question-and-answer session, they continued with the Science lesson. Luckily enough for Taia, she loved Science and answered almost every question like a complete encyclopedia.

"You're lucky you like Science." Said Mel, after Mr. Malpense left. "Because of your activeness, Otto will probably pick you into going to HIVE."

"See?! She thinks that they're from HIVE!" said Taia, and Tammy and Julie sighed.

"Well, now that it's lunch break, why don't we go to the Nook?" Tammy suggested, before Julie could strangle Taia. Again.

* * *

"….. and we were racing in HIVE using the Ottomobile!" said Taia, and they all laughed. Quietly though. They were in the library after all.

The Nook was just the space between two bookshelves in the General Collection Section of their library. But for some reason, it gave a sense of comfort, since it was an enclosed area. Surrounded by books, Julie and Taia took to the habit of staying there when they could.

When they recovered from their laughter, Tammy spoke up.

"But seriously. Otto named the car that Julie repaired the _Ottomobile_? That's just so corny!" she said, almost shouting it out. Luckily enough, the librarians were on the other side of the library, so they had to section all to themselves.

Recently, Taia and Julie had come up with a new HIVE fan-fiction. It had involved the four of them going to HIVE. Currently, they were telling the story to their friends. However, the antics that were occurring in the story wouldn't ever happen in HIVE. They were pretty sure of that.

* * *

_The Next Day_

They were all bored.

For some fandangled reason, the school principal decided to use up eighty minutes of school time to review the history of the school. Taia was blissful, as this covered up two subjects they were supposed to have in school. However, she hadn't anticipated the boring speech the old hag was going to give.

"….. Recently, our school had met a major issue under the governing of the former school principal. The funds had been gambled away, and we were all out of money. So our brother school had decided to break down the barrier between our all-girls school and their all-boys school to become an entire school, and support the Davis-Ascunsion School for Leading Women. After two months of negotiations, we finally received the permission to combine the schools, and become Thresh-Ascunsion Academy, in honor of our partner school, the Thresh Harris Private School for Boys."

Everyone knew that. Most of the people assembled were there when the school had gone on its decline.

"Instead of the usual 7-level arrangement of students according to age, Jason Gonzales, the president of Thresh, decided that students would have to take a general test, and would be arranged by intelligence, and not age. Smarter people were placed in league with others like them, no matter the age. Similar to the average people. Gonzales decided it would be better this way, and would allow students to freely be with their kind, without being reprimanded by other higher or lower people."

That was why Taia, Tammy and Mel were with Julie, despite being a year younger. They enjoyed each others company and intelligence.

The principal was about to say something else, when the recess bell rang. She had run out of time for her closing.

"At least after this, we have P.E." said Mel, shrugging. "Lucky for you." Tammy said, slumping forward onto the table. Saying that Mel enjoyed Physical Education was an understatement. She excelled in every single sport their school offered, mostly in martial arts. Luckily for her, that was the sport assigned to the seventh graders.

"Give me a cold room, hot chocolate and a laptop anytime. I'd rather have that than physical strain." Said Tammy miserably. She hated sports. Blegh. Ew.

"Just because you like computers, doesn't mean you have to be physically challenged." Mel offered, but Tammy glared at her. They tried convincing each other each day why their interest was better than the other. With mixed results.

"Hey, we have the food." Said Julie, holding up two sandwiches in one hand, and two doughnuts in the other. Taia was right behind her, holding four glasses of strawberry milk tea.

"Oh, and please don't tell me that you guys have started on your 'Mine's Better Than Yours' conversation."

"Actually we—"

"Woah-kay." Said Taia, automatically plugging two earphones in her ears. She did not like those conversations.

Tammy glared at her friend, though she immediately went back to her talk with Mel.

After thirty minutes of arguing, recess was over, and their class headed over to the Covered Court.

For some strange reason, the Covered Court had been named as such, even if all the courts in the school were covered by a roof. Obviously. Taia thought it was named that way since the floor they stood on actually covered the hundreds of dead bodies that had accumulated in the school, as it was once a hospital. That, or the dead bodies of soldiers during the war were buried there. Either way, she'd received a smack on the head by Julie.

"Line up, all of you!" said a voice from the end of the court. There, in all his mini-pants-glory, was the über sexy hunk they met on the way to school. What luck.

And so, to mostly sum up their PE period, many girls fainted. And guys too.

* * *

"That was tragic." Said Mel, as they left the bathroom after PE.

"The fact that only a quarter of the class was able to play sports since most of them fainted from sheer joy? I'd call them lucky. _They _didn't face Wing's wrath." Replied Tammy. Wing's teaching wasn't_ actually_ like wrath; it was just a much lessened version of it. According to Tammy.

"Aw, he's not that bad." Said Taia.

"Well, at least we have Computer next!" exclaimed Tammy, much to everyone's dismay. Taia, Julie and Mel especially, disliked the prospects of wires and microchips. Leave that to her bespectacled, mini-sized friend.

Once they entered the Computer room, what to their surprise (besides Taia's; she'd started to expect this), an older version of Laura was bent over a notebook-laptop. She had thin glasses on, and her tongue was trapped between her lips. Julie took the honor of rapping the teacher straight in the head.

"Geh— Oh, sorry about that!" she said very apologetically, as everyone got to their seats. "I'm Miss Laura Brand, and I will be you Computer teacher, as Sir Asis had to quit when he moved across the country to support his pregnant wife in his province."

A lot of the girls cheered; the man had been the biggest pervert in the entire school. The teachers wouldn't believe them, but there were eyewitness accounts of the man trying to peek into the swimming team's between-period clothes changing.

"And for the first period, I would like to know more about you all." She said with a smile. Each student had to go up, say their name, age, and something special about themselves.

Tammy stated brightly that she wanted to become a CEO of a computer company and get rich by creating a new line of advanced artificial intelligences that would aid humans in re-creating a world where the environment hasn't been damaged, or the intelligences would help her in her space adventure to create a new Earth by inserting algae into Venus and speeding up the creation process of that world. She said all that in one breath.

"And I like chocolate." She added, as she returned to her chair.

"As for me, I'm going to become a famous writer and change the face of the earth with my heart-wrenching, moving writing, and I'll use my legions of die-hard fans to do as I command and be my servants, on the pretense that they may stay in my mansion as they please." Julie said jokingly. "But I _am _serious about becoming a writer."

"I'm going to become the president of an elite academy called 'Galang ng Digmaan' and will teach the children of the world how to fight using all forms of offense and defense." Said Mel, force-kicking the hat off one of the students in front. She didn't even touch the hat.

"You're not supposed to wear hats in class." She said, handing the shell-shocked boy his hat.

As for Taia, she didn't say much of what she wanted.

"Eh, either I become a famous cook on TV, or I go into Broadway. Simple as that." She said, returning to her seat.

"All right then…" said Laura, and they continued with their work.

* * *

"Well that was dee-diddly fun!" said Taia. "We could do without the sarcasm." Tammy said, glaring at her. Laura had popped a quiz on them during Computer, and as the name suggested, Taia was not prepared at all. She said that she would fail miserably and never get into college, never get a job and have to be reduced to begging for food and ice cream on the streets.

Julie said she was just being too damn dramatic. Again.

"It could happen!" she replied, and there was a pause. They all laughed. Taia gave her usual crazy Woody Woodpecker-like laugh.

"That still freaks me out, you know." Said Mel.

"Eh, it's of opinion." Said Taia, as they trudged back to their bus. In truth, they could walk back to their dorms, if it weren't for the fact that it was a mile or two away, and they had very heavy bags. That's why the Bus Service thing came up. Students who lived fairly farther away were assigned to certain buses. Luckily enough, they were all in the same bus.

Their old school hadn't been very big, but Thresh had been. **Very **much. It was about five sizes bigger, and that counted the major roads in their old school. They needed cabs in Thresh back then, what more that Ascunsion had been added to their school grounds?

After a fair few minutes (they had a speed limit of 20 miles an hour), they got to Dorm 7. They separated from there; they lived on different floors in the dorm. The thing was, the schools weren't rich enough to separate the boys from the girls, so they lived together in the dorms. Obviously, parents had problems with this, so the school decided to set up cameras all over the place. The four of them thought that it was useless; they could have just separated the dorms and be done with. This mostly being from Taia, as she had…. c_omplications _with one of her batch and floor-mates.

"Hey fat-throat!" someone shouted, and Taia froze in annoyance. Some guy threw his arm around her, and 'choked' her. "HAHA you're so funny." She said sarcastically, and threw the arm off. She stalked off. He followed.

"Why do you even follow me? We hate each other, remember? Unless your memory's _that_ horrible." She said. He froze this time in annoyance. Before he could retort, Taia started talking again.

"What? Forgot to wear undies _again_?" she said mockingly.

"That was in the fifth grade! And how'd you know? We were in different—"

"Facebook." She stated, and he sighed. "Of course." He muttered, and Taia grinned. She was close to her room.

"Well then, good bye _Horatheo_." She said, smirking, and ran off to her room. When she slammed her door closed, there was a large round of 'IT'S THEO!' from outside.

She slumped down onto her bed, and sighed. New teachers were not the only things on her list. Her enemy on the block was one. And her finals were another. Soon they would be going to high school, then to college, then to job-finding, then to retirement, then to—

BRRIIING.

Of course, her cell phone did not sound like that. But just to clarify… anyway, her cell phone rang.

"Yes?" she asked. There were a series of taps, and she grinned. She switched on her computer immediately and logged on to her chat.

There s/he was: the person who she had mysteriously met on a random chat site that used code names the Internet. She felt like being adventurous one day, and randomly said yes to an anonymous person on her chat. Soon enough, they'd become fast friends on the net. They had everything in common: they both liked anime, they liked school (to an extent), they had the same views on the corrupted world they lived in, and yes, they both loved acting.

So they'd become friends. Though they'd never actually met face to face or heard each other's voices, they'd trusted each other enough to share phone numbers. Every time they wanted to chat, they'd just call the other and use Morse code to tap 'Let's chat' on the phone. It had been a sort of silent agreement that they kept their identity quiet, but Taia had been careful enough to get three clues.

That person was a he.

They both studied in the same school.

They were both in 7th grade.

This had been substantial enough for her. Unless one of the 'Pops' (popular people) secretly loved anime, school, and hating the government to an extent, then Taia found it fairly easy to identify who the mystery person was. It didn't mean she was satisfied, though.

This was how their conversation went that day:

**IbonTequilalala (1): **Hey :)

**NakitaNgMatsing (2): **Hi :D

**IbonTequilalala: **What'cha doing?

**NakitaNgMatsing: **Talking to you, duh :))

**IbonTequilalala: **:P :)) Besides that. What were you doing _before_ talking to me?

**NakitaNgMatsing: **Studying.

**IbonTequilalala: **Nerd :))

**NakitaNgMatsing: **I bet you were too.

**IbonTequilalala: **No, I was fighting off a herd of wildebeests.

**NakitaNgMatsing: **Horatheo?

**IbonTequilalala: **Yep.

**NakitaNgMatsing: **You really hate each other don't you?

**IbonTequilalala: **Yep. He's obnoxious, graceless, humorless, and ANNOYING D: :))

**NakitaNgMatsing: **:)) You told me that…. Ten times already.

**IbonTequilalala: **That's because it's true!

**NakitaNgMatsing: **=)) Well, to prevent you from further insulting him… I read this super cool book today! It's AWESOME.

**IbonTequilalala: **What be that, o young master?

**NakitaNgMatsing: **:)) I don't think you've heard of it, but it's called H.I.V.E.

Taia froze. If he'd read H.I.V.E., then…

**IbonTequilalala: **OH MAH GOLLEH :O THAT'S MY FAVORITE BOOK!!!!

**NakitaNgMatsing: **NO WAY!!! Awesome!!!!

**IbonTequilalala: **Until where did you read?!

**NakitaNgMatsing: **Third book, why?

**IbonTequilalala: **I have the first to the fourth! AWESOMENESS :O :D

**NakitaNgMatsing: **GASP. BORROW!

**IbonTequilalala: **I have to see you to let you borrow it D:

**NakitaNgMatsing: **I can send an envoy.

**IbonTequilalala: **That's be hard to arrange. And anyway, they have secret cameras which our parents watch. I'm not allowed to meet guys unless it's for school work D:

**NakitaNgMatsing: **What if the person's female?

**IbonTequilalala: **Well…. that could work :bd (3)

**NakitaNgMatsing: **I'll give you details and stuff tomorrow then :D Awesomeness, you like H.I.V.E. too…

**IbonTequilalala: **Okay, chat with you tomorrow :)

**NakitaNgMatsing: **Bye :D

**You and NakitaNgMatsing have logged off.**

Taia quietly freaked out, as her computer slowly turned off. He knew H.I.V.E.! That was amazing news!

She'd had enough excitement for one day. The new teachers, new curriculum, and newfound best friend tired her. She prepared to sleep, hopefully with good dreams.

* * *

**Heh. Done! Oh, and let's not forget...**

**(1) This means "Bird Tequila(lala)"**

**(2) "The Monkey Saw..."**

**(3) For those who don't know, that was a thumbs up emoticon.  
**


	2. Meringue and Ganache

**I only update this since I'm interested with this story. A LOT :D And the fact that my friends will send raging balls of fire on my domain if I don't update D:**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING.**

**Watch out, lotsa swearing here.  
**

* * *

"Hand me the Microplane, you asshole."

Taia was getting _very_ irritated at her partner. Horatheo. No matter how much she loved Home Economics (which, at the moment, involved cooking), she did not approve of her teacher's way of picking out partners.

She had to admit though, Horatheo was better at this than she thought. Not as good as her though.

And yes, Taia had a superiority complex when it came to cooking.

She started zesting the lemon in her hand, as her partner was preparing the meringue for the top of the lemon meringue pie. She just had to add the lemon juice and zest into the egg mixture and she would be finished with her filling.

"Hey prick head, you done yet?" Horatheo called out. He'd put in the pre-prepared crust (provided by the school) into the pie pan, and was waiting for Taia's wonderful filling.

Yes folks, that was evidence of her gratuitous superiority complex.

The pie finally got into the oven, after a long argument about how the meringue would look like (Horatheo wanted it smooth while Taia wanted it spiked up). They simultaneously sighed, and drifted off to their friends.

"So how's the cake?" Taia asked, as she saw her three friends struggling to frost the cake.

"I still wish that we could have been grouped by friends. Just because we picked out numbers, doesn't mean we would enjoy the group." Said Julie, accidentally wiping chocolate onto her face.

"At least you've got each other. I had to be with _Horatheo_. Gawd."

"I still don't get why there were only the two of you, and the three of us and everyone else." Said Mel, slathering the side with chocolate.

"I asked our teacher. Because of the class's uneven number, two of us would eventually become the only pair. Apparently, fate hates me." Said Taia, getting one of the spatulas and spreading the chocolate ganache in the middle of the two cake layers. As the teacher was outside, it wouldn't hurt to help a little. Besides, philanthropy in school earned you bonus points…

She put on the second layer of cake, frosting the entire thing with gooey chocolate. She piped out whipped cream swirls on the edge of the cake, and put a star stencil on the center of the cake. She sprinkled cocoa powder on it, and quickly discarded the stencil and left before the teacher got back in.

Her pie had finished baking, she took it out and placed it onto the wire rack to cool. She grinned as she set her eyes on the lovely creation.

"Clean up everyone! Time to clean up!" hollered their teacher, and everyone headed swiftly to the sinks. There weren't many of them. Luckily enough, Taia was near the sinks, and Horatheo gained enough sense to start cleaning up a well.

* * *

Taia awaited the next subject: Science. Ever since Otto had come to teach at the school, the subject had become more interesting each day. Maybe it was because the students became intimidated by him when he was actually serious about sending a misbehaving student to the principal

After two months, however, things began to settle down.

"… And yes, April, Sirius is _not_ the north star, it is Polaris. Yes Taia?"

"Is it true that there's a theory that our universe could just be a giant bubble and that there are other bubble-universes out there, like alternate universes?" Taia asked.

"Actually, yes, there is such a theory. The possibility of such universes is astronomical, and an access path to them would be very…"

And yes, Otto trailed off their subject of stars and went on about the theory of bubble universes.

It was very much interesting, but when Otto was about to go back to the subject of stars, the lunch bell rang.

"It's a good thing that Otto got off the subject of stars, it's sooo boring! The only reason why we had to review it was because April didn't listen to a thing he said in the original discussion." Said Julie, glaring at said classmate. She never did like the girl, ever since she slapped her in the fifth grade.

"Come now, _dah-ling_, you can't hold a grudge that long, can you?" asked Tammy. "It's unhealthy." Added Taia.

"Speak for yourself, _Horatheo_." Mel said, and Taia glared at the passing boy.

"Well, let's eat then! I'm hungry." Said Tammy, racing to the usual table.

She stopped herself, when she saw the Furies at that table.

"Oh no." said Julie. They edged away from the group, and settled for the table beside the Deli Crepe shop.

"Why did they take our seats!" Taia exploded, as they munched on Philly cheese steak sandwiches.

"Technically, they aren't our seats. They don't have our names on the,. but yeah, it _is _pretty annoying." Said Julie.

"Those three have ruled the school ever since they were in _kindergarten._ You can't expect them to follow a clique-based seating arrangement." Replied Tammy, pulling out an onion.

"Still, they're still bitches. Everyone knows we sit there." Said Mel.

Now, don't take this the wrong way: this story isn't some run-of-the-mill clique-based high school drama. Mostly because they were just in seventh grade. But, everyone knew that the four of them sat there, because they always sat there. Period. It's like the piece of gum under your chair that you never take out, since it's always been there.

But no. The three Furies just grabbed the gum off the chair and flicked it into the trashcan.

"I still hate Horatheo more than those three witches, anyway." Said Taia.

"You know, the way you say that you hate him all the time makes it sound like you actually _like _him." Said Mel.

She sported a large bump on her head after that.

* * *

"All right everyone, form up!" said Wing, once everyone got into their gi.

Ten minutes into the class, a fifth grader burst into the gym.

"Sir, sorry to bother your class, but we need Miss Mel San Augustin right now in the conference room."

Wing frowned at the aspect of removing his budding star from the room, but he consented with the boy.

"Alright then. San Augustin, change out of your gi. Then follow him to the conference room."

Mel bowed, and quickly went to the changing room, then left.

"At least she's not going to the principal's office." Said Tammy, blocking an attack from Julie.

"The world would end if that happened." Taia said, blocking a kick from Tammy.

Mel was— there was no other word for it— a goody-two-shoes. That's why the three of them found it shocking that she wanted to read HIVE. The three of them were discussing it one day, when Mel joined in and said she wanted to read the book. Julie, Taia and Tammy froze for a few moments back then, and Taia handed her the book. She was the last of them to read HIVE.

Going back to the subject, after thirty more minutes of grueling karate training, they finally changed out of their gi, and met up with Mel.

"What was that about?" asked Tammy, as she came up to them, breathless.

"The principal—_huff_—was in the conference room and she wanted me to tell you guys that, since she couldn't get all four of us out of class—it would interrupt Wing too much— well, she made me go there—"

"JUST TELL US ALREADY." Three of them said.

"I'm getting there! Well she made me come to tell you guys that the four of us are going to a special academy for advanced students!"

They gaped at her.

They then shouted and screamed so wildly and joyfully, that those screams couldn't be put into words.

"OKAY, let's try to calm down a it first." Said Mel, though they were still all giggly. "There's some bad news too. On Taia's case."

"Oh no. What?" she asked miserably.

"It's not only the four of us that are going…" said Mel

"Oh no. Don't tell me…"

"Sorry Taia, but Horatheo's going with us." Mel said, confirming her friend's worst nightmare.

"And I thought we could get away from that brat…" she muttered, then she sighed. "Ah well. At least we get to go to that academy." She said.

"Hey, we should go back already, everyone's left for the changing rooms." Julie pointed out. the gym was deserted.

"Alright then. But hey…" Tammy said. "What's the name of the academy anyway?"

A low, female voice muttered something behind them, and they all froze, not willing to turn around. they couldn't have, either way, as they fell to the ground, knocked out.

"Welcome to HIVE." Raven said, as three other men came in, another unconscious body slung over his shoulder.

"Move out." she said, and they all disappeared.

* * *

**Well. On , this looks a hell of a lot less dramatic D: Ah well, live and learn.**

**READ AND REVIEW. PLEASE.**

**Note: Some of these people are based off people in real life. Like April. Gawd. Hahaha.  
**


	3. I Salute Thee, O Person

**I'M UPDATING SO FAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D I can't believe it :O And the truth is, I'm writing the nonsensical author's note just to increase the number of words. Hahaha.**

**Oh this will be fun. WARNING: COMPLETE AND UTTER RANDOMNESS AND LAZINESS.  
**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING.  
**

* * *

"Do you think it was right to take those five?"

Otto, Laura, Wing and Shelby were at a coffee shop, surrounded by the smell of grinding coffee beans.

"I suppose so. After two months of surveillance, Raven's intuition was right: those five were different from the other candidates in this country." Otto said, sipping on a Mocha frappe.

"But I don't know… when I watched some of them, they didn't seem to have all the potential to be Alphas." Laura replied.

"Maybe you're just underestimating them too much, Brand. When I watched that Julie girl, she seemed pretty good in fixing my car." Said Shelby, waving a donut at her friend.

"You hired her to fix your car?" Laura asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What? It was a test." Shelby replied unconvincingly.

"I can assure you Laura, all of them were capable of the standards of HIVE." Wing said calmly.

"Your charge may have been." Laura said. "She seemed very experienced at karate."

"And every other martial art the school had to offer."

"Hmph."

"Well at least that Palmiano kid seemed pretty good." Laura stated, sighing. "Like a little Laura." Otto teased.

"Because my greatness is so effective!" Laura proclaimed boldly. Everyone laughed.

"But… after watching Horatheo Lacson and Taia Erine… they don't seem to have much potential or anything."

"You said that Miss Erine was good in science, right? And that Horatheo had very experienced photographic memory? I suppose that will help them in HIVE." Wing replied.

"I hope so." Said Otto. "For their sakes."

* * *

Julie stirred.

"Ouch… What just happened?" she asked to no one in particular, rubbing her head.

No one in particular replied, "I think we just got hit by an elephant."

"Oh, hey Tammy." Julie said. As she looked around, her two other friends started coming around as well.

Julie snapped her eyes open.

"GUYS, WAKE UP! I think I know where we are! WAKE UP!"

She shook her other companions awake, and they woke up fully. They still had a horrible headache.

"What the hell Julie. I feel like I just had a hangover…" said Taia, rubbing her head. "How would you know what a hangover's like? You haven't even gotten drunk." Said Mel.

"You have no idea." Said Taia, sounding giggly.

Julie couldn't keep it in anymore.

"Guys, I think we're in a Shroud!"

The three of her friends became wide awake.

They then noticed the belt strapped tightly around their waists. As they tried to break out, Taia noticed a window beside them. A wide blue sea was right below.

"This can't be a Shroud. Shrouds don't have windows." She replied.

"But hey… where else would we be going in an anonymous helicopter-thing over a wide sea in a tropical-like area?" asked Tammy. They all grinned.

Suddenly, they started laughing.

"This is sooo exciting! What if we really are going to HIVE?" wondered Mel.

"Then this my be the most kick-ass six years of our lives!" said Taia. They all grinned, too excited to notice that they were going to leave their entire lives behind for the next six years.

Suddenly, the helicopter-thing reared down slightly; they were entering a volcano.

All four of them squealed like the little girls they didn't want to be.

They suddenly quieted down, acting like serious people. The helicopter finally entered the volcano, and landed on the helicopter pad. From what the four girls could see, many other helicopters were already there. They may have been one of the last ones to come.

The door opened, and two buff henchmen unbelted them and led them out onto the launching pad. They motioned them to the large metal doors with the insignia of GLOVE.

"I always wondered whether they thought it strange to name their league after a piece of clothing." Taia muttered, and Julie elbowed her to keep quiet. The giant doors opened, and before the four of them entered, they simultaneously saluted the technicians and henchmen in the launch pad. Even Julie.

* * *

"I don't think that we should have done that." Tammy whispered, as they joined the throng of thirteen year old kids. Weirdly enough, Taia, Tammy, and Mel were twelve.

"Why?" Taia asked quietly.

"We may have singled ourselves out, acting like that. Besides, they shouldn't know that we know about HIVE. At least, I don't think they should." She replied nervously.

"What's wrong with singling ourselves out? It makes this all the more fun." Taia replied, grinning.

Before any of her friends could retort, Nero came out onto the impressive cavern, and spoke proudly.

The four of them barely listened, as they already memorized his speech from the book. Literally.

He stepped onto the lectern, and the kids in front edged back a little.

"…Welcome to the Higher Institute of Villainous Education."

The gigantic marble slabs on the wall slid apart, revealing the spectacle of students, teachers and other staff members who performed with full grace. No matter how impressed Julie, Taia, Tammy and Mel were, they did not let it show on their faces.

Mel noticed someone, and nudged Tammy's shoulder, who nudged Julie's, who nudged Taia's. They saw Wing and Shelby, doing an impressive dance of kicks and punches, attacking each other with katana swords. They grinned.

"He's still sexier than anyone in HIVE." Taia muttered, and Julie said, "No, Otto is."

"Wing."

"Otto."

"Wing."

"Otto."

"Wi—"

They stopped their fight, when Nero began speaking again. It was mostly ignored by them, but they still had the gist of the speech. They were aware of the fact that the crowd was moving away from the lectern and towards Plotting Room Two.

* * *

It amused them to no end when they saw Otto in black polo and pants, smoking a cigarette. It didn't mean that it wasn't hot though. He looked blank, bored even. Maybe he'd done this before with other recruits.

"Hello everyone. Please take your seat anywhere." He said, and so they all took their seats. The four girls took their seats beside each other, near Otto. They couldn't grin, seeing as no one else was.

Otto took the intimidating approach to the students.

"So you're the new meat of HIVE?" He asked, though no one answered. He grinned sadistically. Taia had to admit that it sent a shiver down her spine. She looked to her friends, who smiled nervously back at her.

"My name is Otto Malpense, but just call me sir. I will not permit anyone calling me by simply Otto. It is my duty to introduce you all to a new year in HIVE. A short film will commence this tour, then I will take you around the school. Afterwards, we will get your uniforms, and return here."

The large wall behind him suddenly lit up. The four of them realized it was a giant screen, disguised as a wall.

Strangely enough, the video presented was the exact same one that was mentioned in the first book of HIVE.

"Could they get any lazier?" Mel mumbled, and the four of them broke into the quietest of laughters.

"Now that you have an idea of what HIVE is like, and what it offers, any questions?" Otto asked, now sounding more like an interviewer with a bunch of college students.

A young blonde boy raised his hand.

"Anything that does _not_ concern my hair?"

The young boy put his hand down. Maybe Otto had been asked that question for hundreds of times.

Another person, this time a young girl, raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss…"

"Miss Betty Gordon." She said haughtily. Taia singled her out as 'spoiled brat', just by how she spoke.

"Her name sounds like bitter gourd." muttered Mel. They silently giggled.

"Do you honestly expect me to stay here? Geez, I'm calling my chauffer right now, he'd better get here with the jet…" she stood up to leave. Taia grimaced at the girl.

Otto just grinned.

"It will be much harder than calling your chauffer. You will have to get through dozens of layers of reinforced steel to get through the door behind you, and then there will be the henchmen that you may have seen outside, and our advanced defense technology to keep people in, and to keep enemies out. also, you'll be fighting the elements, as right outside is a volcano and a wide expanse of ocean.

"And we got your cell phone." He said, spinning the metal thing in his hand. Miss Betty looked horrified.

"This is bedlam I tell you!" she suddenly proclaimed, her eye twitching. Everyone seemed to agree. Otto looked surprised. It seemed as if this was going to become a mutiny of new students.

The four of them sighed.

"Should we stop them?" asked Julie.

"I thought we were supposed to stay unnoticed." Tammy replied.

"This seems like a good thing to do though." Said Mel.

"I'm doing it, even if you guys aren't." Taia said, grinning. They all nodded at each other.

"AHEM. Excuse us for a moment." Julie said, standing. Everyone stared. "This seems rather odd, really." She continued, suddenly pulling up her British accent.

"Why would you want to leave this place?" asked Mel, leaning on the table with her elbows. "This is the greatest chance for all of you to be who you know you are."

"This is the Higher Institute of Villainous Education. I can tell that all of you want this. You just don't want to admit it, as someone who _seems _to have a higher status doesn't want it. For the moment." Tammy added, grinning. "It's a natural peer pressure, albeit with people you don't know."

"We can tell, that you, Miss Betty, are lying about the 'chauffer'." Said Taia. "From the twitch in your eye, and the resistance of your body to move further from where you are now, you're just scared. Scared to try something like this."

Miss Betty twitched again. Their guess was a longshot, but apparently they were right.

"Now let's consider: we all have something to hide. I honestly have no idea to what I have, but I'm willing to join this school. Maybe all of you are different. However, you all have an inner evil. Like what our headmaster said, we all exhibited something that ruled us out from the others." Julie said.

"So let's not start a mutiny here," said Mel. "For Ott— _Mister Malpense's _sake."

Said teacher raised an eyebrow.

Suddenly, everyone sat down, even Miss Betty. They all calmed down.

"Alright then…" said Otto. "Any other questions?"

* * *

**Yes, this actually happened. In my head.**

**BUWAHAHAHA. AND IN THE NEXT CHAPTER... SOMETHING. Don't ask.  
**

**READ AND REVIEW!!!!  
**


	4. Ninja Pirate Gummy Bears

**So, hello! Yeah, this is a new chapter blah of the story. Tah-dah.**

**Anyways... yeah. You were probably intrigued by the chapter title :D**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING.  
**

* * *

After a quick tour which involved the knocking out of a HIVE guard, a corridor brawl, and Hershey's Kisses, the group of about twenty-five arrived at the Quartermaster. However, much to the four girls' dismay, there was no synthesized voice that greeted them. Otto just stuck his eye in front of a reader, and put his palm against another. The great doors of the Quartermaster opened, and they entered the bright white room.

Otto instructed all of them to stay still, while a bright light flashed, and measured all of them. They entered the many cubicles, and began changing their clothes.

"I can't believe HIVEmind's not here." said Taia, and Julie nodded. They separated and went to change their clothes.

Taia sighed. As a full set of clothing swooshed in front of her, there were instructions on a mini screen to take all her clothes off. She didn't mind that; she was too bored with her school uniform anyway. However, she critically examined the jumpsuit, finding it to her liking. She put it on, and looked at herself in the mirror. Besides the unusual feeling of it on her skin, it looked rather nice on her.

"So this is what a jumpsuit feels like." She muttered, pressing down the creases on her shoulders. She debated on whether she would take her headband off or not. It was the only one she had at the moment, but it clashed horrible with the uniform. She so wanted to take it off and yet not. Her hair was long, so it would be hot for her if she took the thing off. But if she kept it on, she would look horrible.

She took it off.

Taia exited the cubicle, looking for her friends in the crowd. She found them, all examining their uniforms.

"Does this make me look fat?" Mel asked, and before they answered, they broke into silent giggles.

"No Mel, it doesn't." Tammy finally said. They turned to Otto, who seemed to be busy speaking with Wing Fanchu. Though the four of them didn't notice the slight worried look on their faces.

"Oi. Check it." Said Julie, pointing to the two.

"Wing is still sexier." Taia mumbled.

"Otto."

"Wing."

"Otto."

"Wing."

"Ott—"

Julie broke off when Otto announced that they would be going to lunch. There was a murmur of assent in the crowd, when they all headed to the dining hall.

"I just hope you're taking down how this place looks like." Taia whispered to her friend.

"Why?"

"Because I'm not paying attention at all."

* * *

The four of them slowly made their way to the serving counter. While doing so, their heads rolled on their necks, catching every detail of the place. Taia was only doing so because the other three hit her on the head for not doing it before.

Mel noticed the large oval table on the platform at the end of the hall. She nudged her friends, and pointed it out.

"Contessa's not there…" Tammy said. "But the Fabulous Four are." Mel added.

It was true. Otto, Wing, Laura and Shelby were seated there. In fact, Otto seemed to be having a conversation with Nero. He seemed different somehow.

"Is Nero in a wheelchair?!" Taia exclaimed, though a bit softly. The three of them whacked her on the head. Again.

Isn't friendly violence just _wonderful_?

"YES HE'S IN A WHEELCHAIR AND YOU DIDN'T NOTICE." They said in unison. Taia rubbed the ever-growing bump on her forehead.

"I could get brain damage from what you guys keep on doing to me." She said. Before anyone else could retort, the group of four neared the serving counters.

After getting their food (there was a funny moment where Tammy was about to get some seafood boubillaise, when a fish head suddenly rose out of the black stew), the four of them took a seat near the teachers. They observed what was happening around them, before digging in.

Mel noticed that many of the henchmen were in one area of the dining hall, probably because many of the other students were avoiding them. Except for a few newbies and a few less muscley henchmen, there were no students in blue overalls hanging with the others.

Tammy noticed that many of the Tech stream students had laptops. She wondered if the Alpha stream students would have laptops.

Julie noticed an unfamiliar teacher at the large oval table. She had light platinum blonde hair, which had two spikes on each end of her head, like ears. Her eyes were brown, though she was sure that they shone gold when the woman turned at a certain angle.

Julie's eyes widened.

"Hey, guys!" she said, poking her friends. "I think Miss Leon's gotten back to normal."

The other three looked to the teacher's table, and they grinned.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but she's hot." Said Taia. No one hit her on the head. They all agreed after all.

Taia's eyes went to Nero's shadow. Even though it was a bodiless, normal looking shadow, Taia couldn't help but notice the unusual flicker she saw from time to time. She grinned. That was probably his guardian angel.

* * *

After another tour around the school, they arrived once again to Plotting Room Two. There, on the table, were twenty-four Blackboxes.

"These," Otto said, holding up his own, sort of battered, Blackbox. "Is your own digital personal assistant, the Blackbox. This device will help you adjust to life in HIVE, and will assist you in your school schedule, assignments and so on. It is considered a major offense if you do not carry this around, so please do NOT lose it. This is your single most important piece of school equipment. It is practically fireproof, waterproof, shockproof, and radiation-proof and it will work in a vacuum as well. Though it is unlikely that you'll be operating it in vacuum... Anytime soon, at least." He said rather sadistically.

He showed the batch of students how to open it, though with many of them already expert in using a DS, they opened it before he'd even said so. Once again, the four girls were disappointed when HIVE mind did not greet them. Instead, the logo of the school flashed, and then a holograph of the Blackbox screen floated in front of them.

"Updated… nice." said Tammy, already using her fingers to manage her Blackbox screen. The other three followed, though using the stylus that was inserted on the side of the thing.

* * *

Otto led them to Accommodation Area 7 ("The one the Fabulous Four lived in!" Julie had exclaimed), and a senior student introduced them.

The senior student looked strangely familiar, not by looks, but by some strange, unidentifiable aura of…

"CLAIRE!" Taia exclaimed, and everyone stared at her. Even Otto.

Oops.

The senior girl stared. Taia laughed embarrassedly. Something on the lines of "Hehehehe… err…." but in real life it sounded like gibberish.

For the first time in her life, Taia stayed silent for more than ten minutes. If you say that she stays silent when she's asleep, Taia would rebut by saying that she talked in her sleep. A lot. About elves stealing pink perfume.

After Otto had left, and they had been inducted to their rooms, Taia rushed out and met up with the senior girl. They looked at each other for a moment, and suddenly they started jumping like little girls, holding each other's hands.

Though it was unclear to other people, they were actually saying 'ninja pirate gummy bears' while jumping.

"Oh my gosh Taia! I haven't seen you in three years!" she said.

"I know right?! It's been so long Claire!"

Claire was an old friend of Taia. They had met in Mini-Theater club, back when the school was still for girls only, and when Taia was fourth grade and Claire was in seventh. When August came around, Claire had suddenly disappeared. Her parents said it was because she transferred schools. In a sense, it was true.

"This is so cool!" she said, as they walked back to their rooms. They said goodbye to each other.

Taia jumped on her bed, the one she claimed before rushing out to meet her old friend. It was room 4.7, so Taia made claim to Wing's bed. In truth, Julie and Taia didn't know who owned which bed, so they left it to their fantasies.

"That was Claire, wasn't it? The senior that transferred schools?" asked Julie, her new roommate.

"Yep." Taia replied.

* * *

After a long dinner and an exciting game of Air Hockey in the entertainment areas of the accommodation area, everyone went to bed.

Tammy sighed. She and Mel stayed in a room beside Julie and Taia's, so they weren't separated. Much. But for some reason, she felt an empty hole in her gut. She ate enough during dinner. And yet…

She realized that she would miss her family. Her school. And her other friends in her old school. Sure, she was very much excited to go to HIVE, but she hadn't even said goodbye to anyone. Maybe her family knew about her disappearance, but not her friends. She sighed.

Was that why she felt empty? Maybe she underestimated the power of homesickness.

Tammy rolled in her bed. She wasn't going to cry, but she didn't feel like sleeping either. And from the lack of snores in the background, her roommate wasn't going to either.

* * *

"He was able to escape?"

Otto and Wing were up late. Most of the teachers had gone to bed already, but they were still discussing something.

"That is why he was not there during the introductory tour. He will arrive tomorrow, but the fact remains that he was able to escape the HIVE guards." Wing said, looking a little distressed.

"He was able to escape three sleeper shots. Are you sure that his willingness to be in HIVE and his photographic memory is all he has? There could be something we didn't cover." Said Otto.

"Yes, but that makes it all the more fun." Wing replied, giving a rare smirk.

"I just hope he'll be able to adjust. It seems as if the other students have already." Otto said, laying his head on his desk.

"Speaking of adjusting… I heard that a mutiny could have happened in your introductory tour if those four girls did not step in. is it true that you are losing your touch?" Wing asked innocently.

He received a whack on the head.

"Shut up." Otto said. His Asian friend merely chuckled.

"Whatever you say, Otto…" he said, and they finally went back to sleep.

* * *

**Dah. Try guessing who 'he' was. Coz it's obvious.**

**And HIVEmind's not there!!!! D:**

**What, you thought I would resurrect him? Answer: Sadly, no.  
**

**READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!  
**


	5. The Lord Warrior

**Muahaha. This one was fairly long, but I still did it in one day! :D**

**And here, a history forgotten is brought up once more! Hahahahaha.**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING.  
**

* * *

The next morning, Taia woke up early. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't wake up late. Unless she dreamed a lot. That wasn't the case this time.

She rolled out of her bed, falling out in the process. Swearing, she stood up. It was only 6 am, and if she remembered right, everyone was woken up at 7:30. She sighed. There was no use of trying to go back to sleep. It never worked before.

So instead, she accessed the computer in their room. It was a force of habit. Whenever she woke up early before, she would turn on the computer in her room and check out whatever she wanted to check out.

Strangely enough, some of the sites she visited weren't blocked by the school. Only the major social networking sites were blocked. However, the fan forum she had visited was very much unblocked.

Ironic, really. The place she went to would be the very site that HIVE would try to block, or even completely bring down. Maybe they didn't know of its existence.

"markwalden-dot-net-slash-bbpress.**(1)**" She muttered to herself. After a few moments, the purple-black screen lit up her monitor. She grinned, as activity was high then. Many of the members were online. Taia wondered if she should tell them that she was in HIVE. After a long debate in her head, with many of the voices in it shouting at each other, she decided to start a new thread.

After a few minutes of typing profusely, Julie woke up. She sneaked up behind her friend, and roughly landed her hands on her shoulders. Taia almost shouted aloud.

"What'cha doing?" she asked, as her friend recovered. Julie read what Taia had been typing for the past few minutes.

"Oh no… you didn't!" she exclaimed.

"I haven't posted it _yet_. You think I should?" her friend asked. Julie didn't hit her. Firstly because it was too early. Second, because she wanted the thread to be posted, but she was trying to weigh the consequences.

"I don't really know… what if—"

"Oh come on, Julie. They'll obviously take it as a joke. Besides, ScottishLaura**(2)** did it before. Everyone commented, but I doubt they took it seriously." Taia replied. Julie looked torn at first, then she nodded.

"Fine. But you'd better be sure that no one in HIVE knows about this." She said, and Taia grinned. She clicked the 'send post' button, and the deed was done.

Taia stretched. She decided to leave the forum. "I'll take a bath." Julie said. Taia nodded, seeming a little muddled, and went to play online games.

As Julie opened her closet, she saw the new uniform that hung there, immaculately pressed. She grinned, as she recalled Otto, Wing, Laura and Shelby's first (and most likely last) attempt at escaping the school willingly. She shook her head, still smiling, and took a bath.

* * *

"Heeey. I saw what you posted on the forum."

Once everyone had woken up, the four of them gathered to one of the couches in the accommodation area. They were discussing about the forum as quietly as possible, trying to keep away from listening ears.

"I still don't understand why we have to keep the forum a secret though." Tammy said. "I mean, it's just a forum—"

"About a top-secret school of villainy that most of the world should never know about. Don't you think that sums it up?" asked Mel.

"Besides, either it's a _very_ big coincidence, or Mark Walden knew about this place and wrote about it. He'd be on Nero, or worse, GLOVE's hit list if they found out that he spread stuff about the school." Julie added.

"Right. Sorry, forgot about that." Tammy said. "Naw, it's okay. None of our brains work properly in the morning." Taia said, stretching out on the couch. Julie pushed her off. She was invading her personal space.

Finally, they decided to go to breakfast. Not many people were going yet, but they wanted to be first in line.

As they walked, there seemed to be a slight disturbance, in the direction of the landing bay.

"I bet that we're not allowed in the landing bay, especially since there seems to be a commotion there." Mel said, with a mock sigh. "I wish we could go there."

"Yeah, I wish we could. If only we had a valid reason to go there." Taia added, catching on. The other two just grinned, and they went to the landing bay.

After five minutes of following the HIVE guards and after Taia tripping many times ("I'm a natural klutz." She boasted, and they almost laughed), they finally got to the landing bay undetected. From what they could tell, someone was coming in late. From the amount of guards assisting in the landing, they could safely say that it was Hannibal Lecter coming to HIVE.

Before they could assure their suspicions, however, they realized that it was breakfast, and many of the students were heading to the dining hall.

"Fine." Tammy said. "Let's go. I'm hungry, anyway." And with that, they abandoned their search and discover mission.

* * *

After a fun breakfast, wherein they watched as some American kid freak out as Julie explained what her breakfast of _goto_ **(3)** comprised of, they headed back to their rooms. On the way, they checked out the classes they had for the day in their Blackbox.

"Well first, we have… Villainy Studies with Nero." Taia said, grinning. "I'll finally see his wheelchair properly."

"Then we have Biotech with… Nigel Darkdoom." Mel said, a smile forming on her face. "I wonder if he went through proper puberty, and grew up to look like his dad." Everyone laughed.

"After that, we have lunch, and then we have Practical Technology with Laura Brand." Julie said. "And Tactical Education with Wing Fanchu."

"Hey Taia, you forgot… Nero'll be teaching, but alongside him is… Otto Malpense." Tammy said.

"Heh, maybe he's under Nero's teaching because he's going to be the next headmaster." Taia said. They all laughed, and got their books when they arrived to their rooms.

* * *

"Have you read this yet?" Mel asked Julie, waving her book of _Elementary Evil_.

"No." Julie said. Mel cocked an eyebrow.

"Okay, maybe a bit of it…" Julie said. Mel still looked unbelieving. "Er… first few chapters… only the first… fine, I read the whole book." She said, collapsing under Mel's gaze.

"I still can't believe you and Taia." Mel said, sighing. "How is it that you can thoroughly read an entire textbook in one night?"

"Common interest." Julie replied. "We both wanted to read it. And we wanted to get the gist of the lesson before it started, so we read it."

"In fact, we had a contest." Taia said, as she and Tammy settled into their seats. "Who won?" Tammy asked.

"Julie. Thirty minutes, 46.22 seconds." Taia replied. "I came so close…," she muttered.

"She got thirty minutes and 58.32 seconds." Julie said.

"I still can't believe you guys… it takes me at least five days to finish a three hundred page book like that." Tammy said, shaking her head. They all looked to one end of the classroom, when Nero entered, aided by Otto.

Now, don't imagine Nero as a wrinkling old man, even if he was probably ninety years old. In fact, he looked the same as the four had always imagined. Except for the fact that he was in a wheelchair.

Also, the wheelchair wasn't pulled by Otto. It moved on its own. There were no buttons, no joysticks on the side of the chair handle. Tammy guessed that it moved whenever Nero wanted it to move. From what she could see, the handle on the wheelchair responded to what Nero wanted the thing to do whenever he kept his hands on it.

"Good morning, everyone. I hope you had a good first day in HIVE." He said. He had a kindly face, but the students were still anxious because of the look Otto was giving everyone.

"Hopefully, you all know my name, and mister Malpense's as well, but forgive me if I make mistakes with yours.

"This class is Villainy Studies, and here, you will learn how to embrace your true selves, where you will learn to unlock the villain in all of you…" The four of them listened on, as Nero made his speech. Unlike the opening speech he gave the day before, the speech he gave then seemed to speak to them directly. Either that or they were just getting very interested in the subject.

"… With all this in mind, I am going to start today by discussing the remarkable career of one of our past graduates, the elusive Kirill Andrei Salazar."

Julie, Mel, Taia and Tammy's jaws dropped. Julie's the furthest.

The man was handsome. That was their first impression. He had light, almost white skin, and had piercing black eyes, tinged slightly brown. His nose was slightly flatter than the usual, and his facial structure looked almost like a heart. He was tall and thin, and he wore a flawless black suit with a scarlet cravat, but there was no mistaking it: he looked like the adult male version of Julie.

Julie was shocked. Not because of the fact that the man shared her last name and he looked almost exactly like her, but because of the fact that Otto confirmed her relation with her.

"Luckily, we have a member of the Salazar family today." He said, putting his hand on her shoulder. Instead of looking at anyone, she stood up.

"Sir… I doubt that the person on screen is my father." She said nervously. This was a first. She hardly ever sounded nervous when she spoke.

"Why so— Oh, of course." Nero said, as if he forgot himself. "But as arranged, we will discuss his career in class. You do not mind?" he asked, and Julie shook her head.

"Thank you." He said. He motioned for Otto to begin the lesson.

"For those who do not know, Kirill Andrei was, as his name suggests, a 'lord warrior'**(4)**. He was a successful strategist in GLOVE, who helped lead the most audacious schemes of the senior members. Every one of his plans succeeded. From his first mission to extort millions from the British government by holding their greatest monarchial possessions, to controlling the activities of several major countries by replacing public leaders with organic replicas, he led an astounding reign of terror, hidden from the public eye. In fact, he'd never failed anyone in the GLOVE council, and from a minor strategist, he climbed up the ranks and became one of the major council members.

"In his first undertaking as an official council member, he formed a team of high-class and expensive assassins, willing to be hired by any government figure. However, after every mission, the evil deeds that were done for the government official were spread to the media, causing a major uproar in the country. Slowly, the government official deteriorated to the point that the assassin group was able to get away with most of his or her money. Those missions added a great number of zeroes to GLOVE's account, so much that he was hailed a great villain indeed."

'_Money really is the root of all evil. And power as well.' _Taia thought. After listening to the escapades of Kirill Andrei, she could really confirm that suspicion.

She glanced at her friend, who looked surprised at everything Otto was mentioning. She probably didn't expect this from her bastard-father. Or was it goody-two-shoes-father? She couldn't remember what kind of father Julie thought he was. All Taia knew was that her parents had divorced before. Maybe it was because of the evil stuff he did.

The more Otto described the man, the more impressive he seemed. Taia never realized the scale of a villain's exploits. She thought of it before, but she never realized how great the war against evil was behind the scenes, under the noses of the general public. Because of the amazing lack of coverage the media had of this, the fight against evil had remained clandestine.

Several hands shot up when Otto said that Nero would answer questions about Kirill Andrei Salazar. He pointed to a tall boy with messy red hair.

"Why would Salazar go to such great lengths to obtain money from the Russian minister, so much that he dressed up as a woman to steal the money from right under his nose? Couldn't he just order one of his men to do so?" he asked. Everyone snickered at this. It was mentioned that he'd done this, after all. Even Julie laughed at this.

"Well, to be honest, he was having fun. The story is that he'd been dared by one of the council members to steal six million worth of gold bars from the Russian minister in the next four hours. It would take too long for him to assemble a team to do so, and he'd been dared to do it on his own, so he borrowed a dress from one of his colleagues and dressed up to attend a conveniently scheduled party the minister was holding. Three hours later, he returned with, not only six million worth of gold bars, but with a hundred carat necklace stolen from the minister's mistress. For winning the bet, he'd won an extra million to the gold he received, and the other council member had to wear the dress."

Everyone laughed at this point. After it had died down, Nero told them to study the first four chapters of their book for the short quiz next meeting. Everyone groaned, but obliged.

"Strange," Mel said. "We still have ten minutes before—"

"Miss Julie," Otto said, and the four of them froze. "Nero would like to speak with you." Julie nodded, and followed Otto back to the classroom. She looked worried when the other three looked at her. They were shooed away by Otto, so they headed to their next class.

* * *

"… And the cross of these two families created the neurotoxin here in front, which can completely cease the— Yes, Miss Julie?"

Nigel stopped, when Julie came into the room, looking torn between shock and confusion. She handed a slip to him, and he nodded.

"Alright then. Please take a seat, and you can discuss the topic you missed after the lesson." He said, continuing the lesson. "The neurotoxin could cease the actions of the brain in just…"

Taia, Tammy, and Mel stopped listening. They looked to their friend, who still looked fairly shell shocked. They mouthed a small 'what happened', but she shook her head. 'Later', she said, and they went back to their lesson."

* * *

"Okay, spill." Taia said, once they sat down for lunch. The loud goings-on in the dining hall made them almost imperceptible to the crowd.

Julie took a deep breath.

"As it turns out, Kirill Andrei Salazar really _is _my dad." She paused for the gasps that came from her friends. She continued before they could interrupt her.

"Apparently, my mother divorced him before I was born, thinking that he would 'demonize her daughter'. She was planning to remarry, when she realized she still loved him, but before she could tell him so, he disappeared. In truth, he remained in GLOVE, though without his family.

"My mom paid some random bastard with the last name Salazar to pretend to be Kirill. I thought all my life that my mom divorced that man. But in truth, Kirill was my father. He sent me to HIVE." She said, finishing the story. Before anyone could ask anything, however, someone tapped Taia on the back.

"Excuse me, but could I sit here? I just got here, and I don't know where else to—"

The person slammed his tray on the table. Taia nearly knocked hers over when she stood up.

"YOU!"

* * *

**(1) Yes, for those who don't know, this is the fan site of HIVE.**

**(2) SCOTTIE!!!!!! Haha, and ScottishLaura is one of the members of the HIVE forum.**

**(3) Goto is like an _Arroz Caldo_ with the small intestines of a cow :D It tastes good, if you ask me.  
**

**(4) Kirill means 'lord', and Andrei means 'warrior'. I think.  
**

**Yes, cliffie :3**

**But you probably know who 'the person' was. Here's a clue: Shakespeare. Know it? Yes? No? Duh. It's already obvious.  
**

**READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!  
**


	6. Blacky and Brownie

**Finally! An update! :D **

**And YES, I have IT as of tyhe moment, so I actually like this chapter :)**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING BUT MY OCs  
**

* * *

"Is something happening there?"

Otto, Wing, Laura and Shelby just recently took their seats for lunch that day, when the immense aura of anger, hat, and competitiveness filled up the entire dining hall. The four of them looked to the end of the hall, only to see two Alpha stream students staring each other down with pure hate.

Either that, or Otto was imagining things.

"Let's go break that up." He said uninterestedly, as though brawls like this happened every day. In way, it did. Not always in the dining hall, though. And it usually wasn't between two Alpha stream students. It usually happened in the halls between two Henchmen stream students.

Wing followed his friend to the other end of the hall, dodging other students who were either avoiding the fight, or going to watch. The crowd separated when they saw the two teachers come along.

"Alright then, what is it this— WHOA!" Otto said, barely dodging the butter knife that passed his ear. He just noticed then that the two Alpha students were throwing cutlery at each other.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE FAT FACE?!" The boy of the two shouted, dodging a plate thrown by the female. Obviously, Taia had some anger issues that Horatheo had just tapped.

"Back at ya, ugly!" she said, dodging two forks that were thrown at her from both sides. Taia's friends looked as though this happened every single day. They didn't bother to stop them.

"What is happening here?" Wing asked, looking steely as he came to the group. Taia froze, about to throw a poor bowl at the other. She slowly put the bowl down, as Horatheo did the same to a plate. He may have not known who Wing was, but when he was a teacher at Thresh-Ascunsion, he was well known to be a scary teacher to those who did wrong.

"Alright, what happened?" Otto asked, coming forward.

"Call it a feud." Horatheo said. "A very, very, long existing feud." Taia added, glaring once again at the boy in front of her.

Otto sighed.

"I would just _love_ to put the both of you in the same holding cell for an entire day, but as you two are new, it's against regulation." He said. "However, if you start another ruckus like this in the future, you two will be in more trouble than you are now. Understood?"

"Yes sir." They replied in unison. Otto and Wing left the scene, as did everyone else who gathered to watch the fight. Taia and Horatheo glared at each other again, before taking their seats very far away from each other.

* * *

"My gawd, that was _hard_."

Taia, Julie, Mel and Tammy walked out of the classroom, enlarging the space they had between Laura Brand. She'd started the day by testing them on their knowledge of computers. Straight-forward, yes, but she said that whoever got the exercise right would be excused from the extra homework she was going to give them. So, as a result, everyone was motivated to do their best. With little success.

"Only two people in our class got anything right, and that was you and that Japanese boy chick." Mel said, pointing to Tammy.

"Ah yes, we were beaten by a gay kid." Julie said, sighing out of laughter instead of defeat. The boy really _was _flamboyant. He pranced (there was no other word for his skip-giggle-walk-repeat) **(1)** to Laura's table, right after Tammy submitted her exercise.

"He was awesome though." Taia said. They realized that they only had a few minutes to go before Tactical Education with Wing, and as far as they knew, the department was a little far.

They ran half way to the Tactical Education department, finding themselves a few seconds early, before Wing came to the platform they were on.

He began his harsh regimen, though the four girls had no problem with that. They'd experienced enough of it in school. Mel even seemed somewhat excited, when the man had began discussing about the grapplers and how to use them.

"For your fist lesson, you'll be crossing the cavern to the other side, using the twin grappler units," he said, shooting the machine onto the ceiling. "Like so."

He jumped off the platform, much to the surprise and fear of the students. He gracefully flew across the cavern, missing large stalactites and rock formations with inches to spare. He returned to the platform as smoothly as before, and before anyone could stop her, Taia broke into applause. Everyone laughed.

Wing just raised an eyebrow.

"Weren't you the girl who started the brawl this afternoon?" he asked, and she nodded.

"Yes sir." She said, grinning. She and her friends could tell what was coming next.

"Good, because you just volunteered yourself." He said, clipping on the grapplers. Taia had an expression of great excitement and anxiety, when she looked over the edge of the platform. It was deeper than she imagined.

"Ooh, that'll be a big fall." She muttered, and then she aimed the grappler at a sturdy looking rock formation.

"Tell my mother I love her!" she said sarcastically, jumping off the edge and screaming to get the stress off her head. Everyone gasped when she released the line, but sighed, when she attached the grappler to the next rock on the ceiling.

It was easier than she thought. Taia sailed across the room, screaming to the heavens when she got too close to anything. At one point, she almost hit a giant stone, right on the face, when she simultaneously lowered the line and shot the next grappler. She never expected herself to be able to do that, but she grinned widely when she did.

Taia finally landed onto the other side, unceremoniously falling onto the floor on all fours. She just got up again, however, and cheered.

On the other side, her friends grinned widely as well. Out of happiness and out of fear of how close she got to the rock formations. They wondered if they would get that close as well.

Student after student tried (and occasionally failed, getting a sympathetic 'Aww' from the remaining crowd) to cross the cavern. And soon enough, it was Tammy's turn.

She gulped heavily, latching the grappler onto her first rock. Hopefully enough, her lightweight would carry her across the canyon-like training course.

She jumped off, flying out of control before she blindly shot her next grappler. Tammy struck home, letting go of the former rock. She continued her unruly flying, until she landed onto the other platform, falling on many of the other students.

"Oof." She said, and then her friend pulled her up, grinning. They laughed, then Taia pointed to the course, and then they watched as their next friend (and victim) tried the course.

Mel heaved a giant breath, before she jumped off the platform, with no grappler on the rocks.

"Is she crazy?!" a familiar voice shouted, then Tammy sighed.

"I forgot that Bitter Gourd was in our class." She said, exasperated. However, they worried a little for their friend as well, before she suddenly rose from the gloom of the canyon, much to the applause of everyone else. Even Wing was smirking.

Mel screamed, like her friend had, seemingly having the time of her life. On many occasions, she let go of both grapplers, leaving her free-falling until she shot one of the things to the ceiling once more. She landed onto the platform, the students clearing her path as she landed on her feet as gracefully and as noiselessly as a ballerina would. Applause resounded in the cavern, and was stopped when Wing signaled for the last few students to have a go at the course.

Two students later, Julie stepped up and shot at a large, strong-looking stalactite. As gracefully as Taia had, she crossed the course, nearing the platform, before the next rock she shot at broke off.

And she'd already let go of the first line.

"JULIE!" her friends shouted in unison, Mel already flying into action. None of their grapplers had been collected, luckily enough, so she shot towards their falling friend.

Julie had enough sense to fire the next grappler towards another part of the ceiling, but then that part broke off as well, leaving her falling downwards again. Mel finally reached where Julie had fallen, and she quickly lowered the line.

Julie was still falling too fast, and as she fell too near to the platform, there was no water to protect her there. Instead, there were chipped off rocks and dusty land lumps. It was safe enough, if you weren't falling from thirty feet at high speeds.

That was when Mel tried to do the illogical. She let the grappler off the ceiling, and fell towards her friend. She grabbed her arm, and then she shot at the platform above her. It hit home, locking onto the metal, as they suddenly stopped. Julie's arm jerked in Mel's grip, sliding down slightly. They both gave a collective sigh, before Mel reeled them up to safety. They'd only been inches from the ground when they had stopped.

"Whoa, now _that_ was dramatic." Taia said, as she and Tammy pulled them up. Wing crossed the cavern by then, quickly checking them for any injuries.

"You two look fine," he said. "But you should still get checked out at the infirmary. We still have a few minutes before class ends, so you should go now." He said.

"And as for all of you, collect the grapplers and pack them away in my cart." He said, much to the groans of everyone else.

"NOW, or else I'll make all of you go across the cavern again!" he barked, then suddenly, everyone stood straight, and shouted "Sir, yes sir!". They began cleaning up, as Mel and Julie left the department.

* * *

"So it didn't work?"

From above the training course, in one of the control rooms overlooking the department, a man in a large brown overcoat and a wooden mask stared down at the lesson. He stared at the two girls leaving the department, and then at the other two girls packing up grapplers.

"Apparently not." Said another man, this time in a black overcoat and an obsidian mask. He seemed to have an air of superiority, even though he was speaking in a quiet tone. He looked to the brown masked man, who turned back to him.

"Good." He said simply, and he just walked out of the small room. The black masked man looked at the two leaving the department, and soon enough, he too left the room.

* * *

**(1) *giggle giggle giggle***

**Ooh... the plot thickens :3 And finally, we see an actual antagonist!**

**Horatheo: So wait, I'm not an antagonist! D:**

**Me: NO, get back into the story! Get! Get!**

**Oh, and I discovered that my muse, who only comes out once a month (he is NOT a werewolf, you TwiTards) works best when I eat chocolate :D Good News :)**

**READ AND REVIEW PLOXXX.  
**


	7. The Monkey Saw a Bird Tequila

**Call this a filler. Coz I'm currently dead (dies)**

**I just came home from a choir recital so yeah... I'm tired (faints)**

**Otto: I don't get why you invited me though.**

**Wing: Me too. Why did you invite us?**

**Me: Because I need some interesting things in my A/Ns. And as my second favorite gay couple, I had to choose you.**

**Otto: Wait what?!**

**Wing: We are not gay!**

**Me: Of course you are! Don't deny it (grins evilly)**

**Otto: THAT'S IT, I'm leaving!**

**Me: Stay, or else I'll post the pictures of you in a ballet tutu with bunny ears and tomato sauce on the Internet!**

**Wing: You do realize that you described the blackmail picture to the readers, possibly giving them a horrible mental image.**

**Me: (grins) They'll live with it. Now do the disclaimer before I tell them about the Thanksgiving video.**

**Otto: (twitches) White Replica owns nothing except for her OCs. She makes no profit out of these stories either.**

**Me: So beat that, blood-sucking lawyers (grins)  
**

* * *

"Not again!"

For the fourth time that day, Taia bumped into a wall. But no. She hadn't just bumped into it. She _ran_ into it. Taia may have been clumsy, but this was taking it too far. They were giant, metal walls for goodness' sakes! Taia rubbed her temples in frustration, as she tried to ease the pain from her latest bruise.

"What's wrong?" Julie asked, helping her friend up. "I don't know, maybe my head just hurts from _running into a wall_." She replied sarcastically.

"Well, can't help you and your blatant stupidity there." Julie said, grinning. Taia glared. "Oh don't be such a fuddy-duddy. You're probably distracted or something."

"I can't believe you just called me a 'fuddy-duddy'." Taia said. Julie glared.

"Yeah, I suppose so." Taia muttered, stalking off to the next class. Tammy and Mel approached their older friend, confused.

"Did she wake up on the wrong side of the bed today?" Tammy asked cautiously. "Maybe she didn't get her usual feed of chocolate and yoghurt." Mel suggested, and the other two shrugged.

"I don't think she did. I'll probably give her to them as a peace offering for lunch." Tammy said, watching the retreating figure of their friend.

Taia wasn't annoyed. Nor was she aggravated. No, she was _pissed_. After her initial shock of being sent to HIVE, and after her awe with the school passed, she realized two things. One was the effects of homesickness. She didn't miss her family as much as she expected, but she suddenly got all these regrets, like 'I wish I'd returned my sister's iPod' or 'I should have told my dad the truth about his socks'.

Two, was her regret of not saying goodbye to NakitaNgMatsing. (1)

They'd become fast friends, but still... she regretted not being able to say bye to the guy. They were close. She could sense that. Whenever they chatted online, she felt relaxed around him. As far as she knew, Taia could say anything to the guy. It was strange.

But now, they wouldn't even be able to chat. Taia felt like she'd broken something. After all, she offered to lend her fourth HIVE book.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed. Her exclamation would have been fine, except for the fact that she'd said it in the middle of class. Her thoughts made her forget that she was in the middle of Stealth and Evasion.

"And what is wrong, Miss…?"

Shelby was assisting Miss Leon in her demonstration for a proper stealthy invasion, until Taia shouted out. Taia grinned sheepishly.

"Well… er… don't you think that the camera would pick up Miss Trinity's movements when it swiveled to the left?" Taia asked. She suddenly realized what she'd said. She and her friends were shocked.

"Why yes, she would. Thank you for pointing out that flaw." Miss Leon said. Taia sat down, looking mortified and a tad surprised.

"How did you do that?" Mel asked. "One minute you were in outer space and beyond, and suddenly you point out the single flaw in Shelby's escape route. How'd you do that?"

"I have no idea whatsoever. To be honest, that just came out of my mouth." Taia admitted.

"Oohh, I wish I could do that!" Tammy said. "That way I could imagine anything without getting caught!"

Julie suspiciously eyed her friend. Clearly, there was something wrong with her. She just didn't know what.

Taia mumbled under her breath. Not only were her most favorite books in the world in her dorm a million miles away, she'd probably broken her promise to show the fourth book to Matsing. Maybe he went online everyday, hoping to find the name IbonTequilalala (2) on the chat site. It wouldn't come again for another six years though.

Why was she being so strung up on this guy?!

Taia grumbled again. She tried to get him out of her head.

* * *

After class, Julie, Tammy and Mel cornered their tallest friend.

"Okay, what is wrong?" Julie asked sternly. "You've been out of it since this morning." Mel added. "And you've been acting way weirder than usual. That's saying something." Tammy joined in.

"To tell the honest to goodness truth… I have no idea what the dancing kiwis why." Taia confessed. "I really don't know what's bothering me."

That _wasn't _the honest to goodness truth, really. Taia found it hard to tell her friends that she'd gotten worried about her Internet friend. So she just lied. It was easy for her. She'd been doing it for years, so long that she'd become a natural.

"All right. But just tell us when you do find out what's bothering you." Mel said. Taia nodded, and they headed off to their next class.

* * *

"Well this can't be right."

Horathe— err, _Theo_, for the time being, as he liked being called so, was reading a small textbook on notable evil villains. He'd read as far as Vishus Venicé, until he felt a strange aura in the library. That couldn't be right. Libraries were sanctuaries, undisturbed by the goings-on of real life. But something was just _wrong_.

Theo got up from his chair, to walk down the aisle of books. He peeked from the edge of the bookshelf to see what was wrong. He saw a figure walking towards the end of the corridor of shelves, seemingly looking for peace. The person looked messed up and stressed.

"… _Taia_?" he muttered to himself. Theo squinted his eyes, trying to see if his suspicions were right.

He was. It was Taia, seeming exasperated. She didn't seem to be looking for a fight.

Huh. So she was actually smart enough to enter the library. He snuck back into the corridor of shelves he was in, and returned to his book. He was about to read on about her exploits as a former GLOVE member, when he heard the strangest things from the girl. He knew that she babbled like an idiot, but really, the things she was saying were just… _odd_.

"Why did they block that SNS site?! I could have been able to talk to Matsing, and we would have lived a happily ever— GAH! What am I saying?! I barely know the dude, and I'm talking about happy endings! What's wrong with me?"

'_A lot of things, really.' _Theo thought, snickering. Taia froze, as she just passed the corridor where Theo was.

"Wait. That annoying… Horatheo?!" She exclaimed, though quietly. The library may have been big, but Mirs. McTavish had ears like a jackrabbit. And jackrabbits had very good ears, mind you. She had the wrath of a lion too.

She backpedaled, going near the place where Horatheo hid. _'Oh shitshitshitshitshitshit.'_ He thought, getting out of the cushy chair he was in. He wasn't able to escape the other way, as behind him was a blank wall. So he thought of hiding behind the chair. He hoped that Taia was too much of a douche bag to check.

"Helloooo? Pig head? You here?" she asked, looking around. From the sound of her footsteps, Theo realized that she was getting closer. Only a miracle would save him now.

'_Oh shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit.' _He thought again, waiting for the inevitable discovery.

"Oi. Taia."

Suddenly, the footsteps stopped, and Taia replied. "Yes Mel?" she said, exasperated, and she left the corridor. After waiting for a few moments, Theo peeked from the side of the chair. She was gone.

"Thank God." He muttered. Suddenly, he began to wonder.

'_Why was I so scared to be found?' _he thought. _'I mean, hell, I'm supposed to pick a fight with her, not hide like a coward.'_

'_Tch. If she finds out about this I'll never hear the end of it.' _He told himself, sighing. Before he could get to his book, however, he checked the time.

"Dang. It's late." Theo muttered to himself, leaving the book and the library for his new room.

* * *

**(1) If you don't remember, this means "The Monkey Saw"**

**(2) And this is "Bird Tequila(lala)**

**Otto: I thought you wouldn't post those pictures!**

**Me: (innocently) I didn't...**

**Otto: Then why are the pictures all over HIVE?!**

**Me: What, I said I wouldn't post it on the _Internet_. I never said anything about HIVE (grins)**

**Otto: GAH! LOOP HOLES! (faints)**

**Me: (prods Otto's head with a stick) Whoops. Hey Wing, get him out of here, will you?**

**Wing: Yes, yes. (drags Otto away by the legs)**

**Me: Read and Review please!  
**


	8. Not a Klingon Wartlord

**Hello there! Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I started reading One Piece, then I got on the fandom, and I couldn't stop until I realized that to had to update my stories here (hides behind a large titanium wall)**

**But do not worry, forsooth, I HAVE RETURNED! :D**

**Otto: And what's with the weirdo shrine? (stares at shrine with a marimo and a golden curl in the center of a hundred pictures)**

**Me: NO TOUCHY! That's my ZoroxSanji shrine :3 AND USOPP! WHY HATH THOU LEFT THE STRAW HAT CREW! D:**

**Otto: (Edges away slowly)**

**Wing: Why don't me and Otto have a shrine? (Is sad)**

**Me: Awwww, don't worry Wing! I'll make you two a shrine as well! (runs off to make a WingxOtto shrine)**

**Otto: (Stares disbelieveingly)**

**Wing: (Sighs) Well that'll get her off our backs for a while.**

**Otto: Oh, I really thought you wanted a shrine O_o**

**Wing: O_o;;;**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING. AND I DON'T OWN THE CONCEPT OF KLINGONS EITHER.  
**

* * *

"You are going _down_, brainless."

"Bring it, bitch."

Taia, Julie and Tammy walked in on a very strange event, after coming from the HIVE library. Mel and Betty Gordon (a.k.a. Bitter Gourd) were holding on to the railings of the fourth floor, overlooking the waterfall/pool below. They were in swimming suits (Bitter Gourd being in a bikini, but that was beside the point) and they looked as though they were going to jump.

It'd been a week since the Fantabulous Four stepped foot onto HIVE grounds, and in those seven days, they'd gotten to learn more about their batch-mates. Much to their chagrin, they'd also discovered that Bitter Gourd was a sports freak, just like Mel. This had riled them both up, resulting in large quarrels and unbelievable competitions between the two.

"When do you think they'll stop fighting each other?" Tammy asked nonchalantly, sucking on one of the chocolate lollipops they were giving out in the dining hall.

"When they break their legs, or their arms, or any other part of their body." Taia replied.

"No, there'll still be verbal arguments in their infirmary rooms." Julie said. "Good point." The other replied.

Quite a crowd had gathered by then, a crowd which had watched their other escapades before. They seemed interested in this new one, where they threatened their lives by jumping off four stories and landing into a pool below.

"Three…" Mel announced.

"Two…" Bitter Gourd added.

"ONE!" they both shouted, falling at the same time. The real competition was whoever would land in the water first, but it seemed as though they were falling at the same speed. They both took on a straight body, but that position would probably result in a quick and pathetic death.

"Think they'll die?" Taia asked.

"Mel tried to jump off a seven story building with only plastic wings when she was hyper, and she survived." Julie replied. "Neither of them will die."

Immediately after she'd said that, there were two large splashes coming from the waterfall pool. Everyone, Tammy, Julie and Taia being in the lead, looked over the edge to see if there was any blood.

The two girls broke the surface of the water, breathless and adrenaline pumped. That was not a good thing. It meant that they would have enough energy for a very long and loud verbal spar.

"I got it on video!" a random HIVE student said, waving a camera around. The two girls rushed to the boy, grabbing the thing simultaneously and playing the video frame by frame. Tammy moved to Mel's side.

"And look!" she said, bored. "It's a tie, aah!" she sarcastically screamed in terror, as Mel and Bitter Gourd returned the camera and glared.

"Did you see that? I _won_." Bitter Gourd said evilly.

"Maybe you need your ears and brain cleaned out you douche since it was obviously a _tie_." Mel replied angrily.

"Anyone could see that I was a millisecond faster than you, dim-wit." Bitter Gourd said, and that was where the verbal brawl started. Again. The three girls edged away from the two fighters, settling down onto one of the couches in the accommodation area.

"And once again, I raise this question. When do you think they'll stop fighting each other?" Tammy asked. The other two shrugged.

"Same answer with me." Julie answered.

"I think it's kind of cute that they fight like that." Taia said bluntly. The other two laughed.

"I don't think you should let them hear you say that." Julie said. Taia just shrugged.

* * *

Tammy seemed glued to her computer. She was practically half a foot away from the screen, quickly typing computer jargon onto it. Data just flew past the screen, as she stared and typed simultaneously.

"Yo, what's wrong with you? Code rage?" Mel asked, drying her hair off with a towel in her hand. Tammy quickly turned to monitor off, seeming breathless.

"N-nothing! Just… Just trying to make an essay for Prac. Tech!" she exclaimed, laughing unconvincingly. Mel raised an eyebrow, making a move at the computer.

"Wait! I'm not yet done— OH DON'T YOU DARE." Tammy said, trying to wrestle her friend away from her computer. Mel tried to shake the frailer girl's hands off, reaching for the monitor button. Tammy pushed those hands away, biting them in the process.

"Ouch!" Mel exclaimed, quickly withdrawing her hands and shaking them vigorously. "That _hurt_."

"Duh." Tammy replied, shooing her friend away. Mel gave an incoherent jumble of swears, before going back to her bed.

Tammy rolled her eyes, returning to the computer. She continued typing her mysterious project, when suddenly, the screen went blindingly blue.

She froze. Instead of screaming out, she remained silent. She couldn't let Mel or anyone know what she was doing. So she just shut up, and tried t figure out what was wrong. Tammy typed a series of codes, trying to find out what had happened. Suddenly, lines of black and white flashed in front of her eyes, and they formed into four messy words.

_I know your secret._

Before Tammy could react, however, the screen went back to what she was working on. She didn't pay heed. Tammy just sat frozen in front of the computer.

"Oi Tammy, what's wrong?" Mel asked from her bed. Tammy gained control of her senses again, and sneezed.

"Sorry, I just felt that going up my nose." She said, laughing. Mel rolled her eyes, grinning, before snoozing again. Tammy however began to bite her lower lip, before shutting her computer down and going to sleep as well. She would find out who had hacked her computer tomorrow.

* * *

"Is something wrong Miss Palmiano?"

Laura bent over the worktable of one of her brightest students. When everyone had opened their PCs for the hack program, Tammy had suddenly frozen. Afterwards, she seemed tetchy and nervous.

"Er, y-you see Miss Brand, someone seems to have—"

MWAH, MWAAAAH, MWAH! (1)

"Oh, too late I suppose." Laura said, frowning. "If you want to talk about anything, just drop in during your break time. I don't want anything bothering my students. You and Kazuno especially." She said, smiling at the thought of her two favorite students. Tammy nodded, smiling, before staring at the PC for a while before shutting it down. She headed slowly to her friends, looking worried.

"Oi Tammy, what's with you?" Mel asked, looking concerned for her friend. She'd been like that since yesterday, and Mel was worried. It was as though Tammy was stressing over a life-changing, important exam that she hadn't studied for.

"Huh? Oh, nothing. Just worried that I did something wrong in Prac. Tech." She replied as calmly as possible. She began to stride away from the other three girls, leaving them confused.

Tammy was becoming uneasy. Not only had someone hacked her computer the day before, someone had also gotten into her PC and plastered the same note on her work before returning to normal. She was twitching by then, and nothing she was doing at the moment was helping.

"Oi, Tammy-chan!" someone called out, drawing the attention of said girl. Tammy looked back, and saw Kazuno Tsubame running to her. The gay Japanese slowed down, and began to walk along with her.

"Ano, what's wrong Tammy-chan?" he asked girlishly. Tammy gave a noncommittal shrug.

"Just a bit stressed, Tsu-chan." She replied. She and Tsubame had become fast friends, when they were partnered together in a short experiment. Him being gay was also a bonus factor in their friendship. Tsubame looked at her with concern, before patting her reassuringly.

"Well, don't overwork yourself Tammy-chan." He said cheerfully, before prancing off to his friends. Tammy's smile immediately fell off, and she rushed back to her room. She needed to think of how she would deal with her current problem. She'd never been good at confiding deep dark secrets to people after all.

* * *

"So you got it too?"

Julie cocked her eyebrow, when she heard Taia coming back from the library. Said girl was referring to the note she found in her review book when she'd opened it for her review. Julie nodded, waving an identical slip of paper.

"I'm guessing Tammy slipped it into my glasses case. She would know that I have a habit of checking the thing after every class." She said calmly. Taia nodded, and they both headed to Mel and Tammy's room. The note had told them to go there at 8:30 pm because she had something important to tell them.

They got to their friends' room. Taia immediately landed on one of the beds, while Julie took the seat nearby. Mel just shrugged, not knowing what her roommate had planned.

"She's in the bathroom. I guess she's practicing her speech or something." She said.

"What do you think she's going to tell us?" Julie wondered aloud.

"Maybe she's finally going to tell us that she's not actually a girl, but a boy." Mel suggested with a grin. "Nah, I bet that she's going to tell us that she's a Klingon wartlord." Taia said, smiling widely.

"That could be possible." Julie said. "But she's probably going to tell us that she's been married to Nero for years." (2)

The other two girls just stared at her unbelievingly.

"Yeah, I don't believe my statement either." Julie said, shrugging. Suddenly, the door to bathroom swung open, and a burst of steam filled the room. (3)

"Klingon wartlord…" Taia muttered eagerly. Instead of a warty, hard faced alien, however, a frazzled looking Tammy came out. She settled onto the bed, near Taia's head. Julie looked at her expectantly.

"Well… hi." She started. Taia propped her head onto her two hands.

"It's just… you guys… I really want to say… I have something to tell you guys. It's really important." She said nervously.

"Well, that was sort of obvious." Mel said, and Tammy shot her a glare.

"Are you going to tell us that you're a Klingon wartlord?" Taia asked excitedly. Tammy just looked at her, confused.

"No, I'm pretty sure I'm not an alien." She said. She inhaled deeply, creating a dramatic atmosphere. All the people in the room leaned in for the next few words.

"I… I messed the PCOS machines during the election (4)." Tammy whispered oh so quietly. The atmosphere in the room quickly shifted.

"Tammy… that, that…" Mel said. Tammy waited for the horrible explosion.

Instead, there was an ill-mannered and very loud snort.

"That's it?" Taia exclaimed, laughing her ass off. Soon enough Julie and Mel joined in, not as loud but just as boisterous.

"Wait, what? _That's _your reaction?" Tammy couldn't believe her ears. "I messed up the elections for _president of the country_. That's just—"

"Great!" Julie said, grinning. "You made the best possible presidential candidate win the elections! What you did was a good thing!"

"Best possible candidate to _us._" She said seriously. "You guys, I hacked into the machines which would determine our country's future! This is really bad!"

"Tammy dearest," Taia said jokingly. "We don't _live_ in that country anymore. What happens there doesn't matter anymore."

"So… you _don't _care for your old life anymore?" Mel asked, unbelieving. Even Tammy and Julie looked surprised.

"Well, yeah." Taia replied. The other three just stared at her, but they knew that _that _topic wouldn't be pursued any further. So they just dropped it.

"And anyway, even if you messed with the PCOS machines, it's okay." Mel said. Tammy's head drooped, and then she sighed.

"I suppose…" she said. Mel grinned.

"Well, now that this predicament has been resolved, I say we go to sleep." Julie suggested, already walking out the door. Taia jumped off the bed, and followed.

"Goodnight!" Tammy called, and Taia just waved.

* * *

"So you knew." Shelby said, smiling at Laura, who was bent over some machiney thing.

"I had to get her to trust her friends with a secret." Laura replied, removing her goggles and her gloves. "I told Otto about me hacking into an army base before I even got to know him well. Tammy should be able to trust her friends with her talents."

"So you technically harassed a student without her knowing by pushing a secret out into light." Shelby said, grinning sadistically. Laura beamed, and gave a sure "Yes ma'am!"

"Well, that's pretty evil of you Brand." Shelby said. "But she doesn't know that…"

"No, she won't know that government forces were chasing her trail when she was taken to HIVE." Laura replied, returning to her work. "She's had enough trouble for one day."

"She really is like a mini you." Shelby said, stretching and leaving.

"Well, I'm hitting the hay. You work on your machiney thing as long as you want." She said, exiting the room. Laura saluted her friend, before slipping her goggles on again.

* * *

**(1) Gotta love that bell xD**

**(2) Me, Dolce Entente and my friend who Tammy had been based off of had a short get-together at Dolce's house. While waiting for real-life Tammy to show up, me and Dolce were getting paranoid, wondering if Nero was in the house. Suddenly, we thought that Nero was real-life Tammy boyfriend and the joke just went on the entire day. So I just _had_ to put that in there xD**

**(3) Tammy probably got the hot water running for no reason, so steam gathered in the bathroom and burst out when the door opened :3**

**(4) "Presinct Count Optical Scanner", these machines were based all over the Philippines for our first ever 'electronic elections'. We had this special ballot thingy, we shaded the names of the candidates we wanted to vote for, and inserted then into the PCOS machines and they would record the votes.**

**So... Yeah :3 **

**Read and Review!  
**


	9. Of Melons and Bitter Gourds

**Hello there :D I just HAD to update because SOMEONE was pestering me to update again. (coughDOLCEcough)**

**Otto: (laughing like a crazy person... think of the Joker)**

**Me: Are you on Red Bull _again_?**

**Otto: NO. Not now anyway. I heard about something.**

**Me: What would that be? Did you realize how awesomely gay you are?**

**Otto: Yes**— **Wait, what? No!**

**Me: xD What was it then?**

**Otto: Wait, lemme do the disclaimer first, and I'll tell you later (continues laughing like a maniac)**

**Wing: ... Is he on Red Bull again?**

**Me: I hope not. O_o;**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING.  
**

* * *

"That is IT!"

Shelby walked into a strange event. She was about to start class with the first years, when she found two of her students standing on their tables, staring at each other angrily, attempting to choke each other. Six other students of hers were trying to pull them down.

"And what is happening here?" Shelby asked, irritated. Immediately the two students let each other go, though there were still auras of hate emanating from them.

"Mel, Betty, please… I don't think that either of you want a detention." She said threateningly. "I'll let this go for now since you didn't actually hurt each other. But if this happens again…" Shelby sighed. She didn't feel like doing anything horrible that day, since she was REALLY exhausted from her other class. Some fifth years just didn't understand that she was out of their league and not single.

Mel and Betty moved away from each other, back to their friends. They sat down at the same time, glaring at each other all the while. Taia stifled her laughter.

"You act like some married couple." She muttered quietly, still giggling. Mel kicked the leg beside her, and Taia doubled in pain. Tammy and Julie grinned widely, as Taia swore vehemently.

"Dude, seriously!" she whispered, mouthing cusses. Shelby looked in their direction suspiciously before going back to the lesson.

"Guys, attention to the board." Julie said quickly, before Tammy rolled her eyes.

"Yes Mini-Shelby." She replied sarcastically, and Mini-Shelby scowled.

"It's not like I mean to like her lesson—" Julie replied, but Taia cut in.

"But you do. Just like Mel likes Tactical Ed., Tammy likes Prac. Tech., and Horathe-twat likes everything else but Villainy Studies." She said bluntly. Mel stared.

"How do you know what Horatheo likes?" she asked, smirking broadly. Taia began stuttering before she stood up quickly and embarrassed herself.

"YOU CAN'T PROVE ANYTHING!" she said loudly, enough for everyone in the room to look at her strangely. Shelby raised her eyebrow.

"Though I didn't call you, that _is _something people commonly say when they lie badly. Thank you for the unprecedented answer, Miss Erine." Shelby said, looking amused. Horathe-twat just rolled his eyes and went back to the lesson. Taia laughed nervously, before sitting down.

"I wish I had your luck." Tammy said, sighing. "Believe me, once I get lucky, a few hours later something horrible happens." Taia replied, leaning her head onto her hands.

* * *

"Told you so."

The results of the Politics and Economics pop quiz came out, and as expected, Taia failed. She never really did like things that spoke of the government. In fact, she hated anything to do with 'Politics' and 'Economy'. So one could see how she failed.

"So you really _do_ get bad luck after you get good luck." Tammy said.

"Nah, this isn't much. One time, I won free tickets to this awesome movie, but the day after our family car got stolen and my tickets were in it. Besides, I sort of expected failing this test." Taia said, shrugging. "I feel sorry for you." Said Julie, smiling sarcastically at her friend.

However, a heavy atmosphere fell upon the Fantabulous Four, when Bitter Gourd approached them.

"Oi, brat." She said venomously. Mel didn't even turn to look.

"HEY, dead last." She said, sounding more irritated by the second. Mel started up a conversation with Tammy, until Bitter Gourd hit her on the back of the head. She didn't even flinch.

"Oh, you were referring to me?" Mel asked innocently. "I thought you were talking to yourself."

Bitter Gourd ignored the jibe, handing her a slip of paper.

"Water Polo swimming pool. Eight o'clock. We'll settle the waterfall dive there. If you don't come, you will officially be dubbed a true wimp." She said smugly.

"Oh, I think I will come. I don't want to steal your title after all." Mel replied, grinning. Bitter Gourd grimaced, before prancing back to her friends, which, surprisingly enough, involved Horatheo. It looked as though they started their own foursome, muttering obscene things about Mel, Tammy, Julie and Taia. Mel mimicked they way Bitter Gourd announced the competition, before rolling her eyes.

"Come on Melon, we'd better head to lunch before that Polish kid gets all the chocolate mousse." Taia said, dragging her friend to the dining hall.

* * *

"Wanna bet she's not coming?"

Bitter Gourd stood, clad in the bikini she wore before, clearly waiting for her other half. Mel. Her three other friends, Baden Schulz, Mary Susanna Bainbridge, and Horatheo Lacson, were waiting beside her. Baden and Mary were flirting, while Horatheo was averting his eyes, annoyed.

"Did you really have to do this _again_?" Horatheo asked, rubbing his temple. "I mean, I've heard of men challenging each other to do stupid stuff, but you two have just met and—"

"I've told you this a hundred times Theo! There is no way that corn–fed, brainless dead-last douche is going to beat me at anything!" Bitter Gourd replied angrily, tapping the floor harder.

"But the last competition was a _tie_. All of your competitions end up in _ties_. I can't waste too much time on unimportant stuff, because I need to read more books on Villainous Studies." He whined.

"Listen, you blasted twat." She said threateningly, grabbing his collar. Horatheo rolled his eyes and blocked out her short rant.

"That brat and her friends insulted me on the first day, before you even knew of the existence of this institute. I _heard_ them say so. And soon after the brat openly challenged me and attempted to defeat me. Do you think that I would let that pass?" she said hysterically.

"She didn't really challenge you, she just said to her friends that she would try to cross the cavern in less than thirty seconds, and you overheard and—"

He stopped, however, when the Fantabulous Four walked up to them. Bitter Gourd, Baden and Mary grinned evilly as they approached them, while Horatheo just rolled his eyes as he followed.

"Ready to die?" Bitter Gourd asked devilishly, and Mel yawned.

"I'm ready to die from boredom, if that's what you mean." She replied blankly. Bitter Gourd glared, as Mel changed out of her jumpsuit, into a swimming suit Julie got for her from one of the swimming team members. She would return it in the morning.

"So what's the challenge?" Taia asked.

"Fifty laps. First one to finish wins." Baden replied arrogantly, his face saying that Bitter Gourd would most likely win.

"In your dreams." Tammy said. Julie just shrugged.

"Do we even have an unbiased referee or something? It won't do any good if the referee's a stupid, unbiased bitch." Julie said, looking at Mary. Said lady frowned.

Bitter Gourd pushed Horatheo to the front lines. Taia looked surprised.

"_Him_?" she asked unbelievingly, almost laughing. "He's got to be the most idiotic—"

"There's a lot more to our relationship than you think." Bitter Gourd interrupted, glaring at her 'friend'. He just shrugged. Taia snorted at the word 'relationship'.

"Are the competitors ready?" he asked, annoyed.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Mel said. Bitter Gourd was about to retort, when Horatheo cut in.

"Alright then. Dive at my go, in three… two… one… GO!" he announced, and the two girls dove in at once. While the competition was held, Taia, Tammy and Julie sat by the side of the pool.

"You think this'll end up in a tie?" Tammy asked.

"When has it _not_?" Julie asked, grinning.

* * *

"I was obviously first!"

When Horatheo announced that it was a tie (again), Bitter gourd was enraged. She and Mel started another heated argument.

"No, you idiot, it was a _tie_. Have you not heard of the word you prissy thickhead?" Mel said angrily.

"No, I finished the fifty laps before you, you brainless hick!" Bitter Gourd shouted.

"And it begins." Tammy said, rolling her eyes and grinning again.

"Tell that brat that I was first!" Bitter Gourd exclaimed, dragging Horatheo by the collar.

"It was a friggin' tie!" he said in defense. Bitter Gourd pushed him away, and unluckily enough, the pool was right beside him. Gravity took hold and pulled him in.

Taia broke out into outrageous laughter. She, who was sitting on one of the benches nearby, fell off herself. She didn't care, because when Horatheo's head came out of the water, he looked absolutely laughable.

Julie laughed a little, before grabbing Horatheo's arm and pulling him out. His face asked why she was helping him.

"We were in the Aspiring Author's Seminar before, remember?" she said, dragging him out of the pool. Horatheo gave an 'oh' of recognition, before glaring at Taia, who was still laughing raucously.

"Come on, let's hit the hay." Mel said, ignoring Bitter Gourd's jibes and protests. "I'm getting bored with this conversation."

"We'll continue this tomorrow." Tammy said, walking away from the pool. Taia wiped the tears from her eyes, before catching up with her friends. She caught Horatheo looking at her strangely, she mouthed a 'what the hell man', and he looked away. Mel dragged her off before Taia could do anything else.

* * *

**Me: So what did you hear about?**

**Otto: I heard from this guy who knew this guy ****who knew this guy, ****who knew this girl ****who knew this other girl ****who knew this barber, ****who knew this guy ****who knew this librarian ****who knew this guy's _brother_**—

**Me: DUDE. I get it. You heard from someone. So?**

**Otto: I heard you got hit on the face by a basketball! (breaks out into more manic laughter)**

**Me: Want me to hit your face with a basketball?**

**Otto: O_O;;**

**Read and Review everyone!  
**


	10. Are You Done Eroticizing?

**Because SOMEONE kept texting me to update, I just HAD to do it xD**

**Then again, this one only took me an hour.**

**Otto: Llamas, pretty pretty llamas...**

**Me: WTF. Is he high?**

**Wing: I think so. I saw him lying down beside the computer, dazed and crazy.**

**Me: I think he was tortured online, and all he can say now is 'llamas'.**

**Wing: O_o Should we bring him to the infirmary?**

**Me: I guess. Wait, you said computer, right?**

**Wing: Yes.**

**Me: Who's computer?**

**Wing: I think it was... _yours_. O_O**

**Me: Holy crap on a cracker.**

**Wing: What were you looking at on your computer?**

**Me: And why was he looking at _my_ computer?**

**Wing: I'll take him to the infirmary. (Drags him off)**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING.  
**

* * *

"No really, this is good! How'd you get all this stuff?"

When school had ended, the Fantabulous Four gathered in Julie and Taia's room for a surprise the latter had prepared. When Tammy and Mel got there, they saw four little plastic bags on Taia's bed. Upon closer inspection, the two girls realized that they were cookies.

After partaking of the wonderful stuff, Taia explained how she'd gotten the stuff.

"I got worried about my baking skills. A week without baking might make me rusty. So one night Julie and I snuck into the kitchens, with Julie disabling all the cameras and stuff, and I got to cook my Sticky Cinnamon Buns and my special cookies." She said proudly.

"Cinnamon buns?" Tammy asked excitedly, but Julie shook her head.

"They're in our stomachs." She said. "You're lucky we didn't eat all the cookies."

"Aaww!" Tammy exclaimed.

"We must retrieve the cookies from their bellies! Charge!" Mel shouted, pouncing on Taia and Julie. She began tickling the two girls, until Julie kicked her off.

"Get off me!" she said, in between laughs. Tammy grinned evilly, joining her room mate in the tickle bonanza.

Soon enough, the four girls began tickling each other, and the game progressed into a strange form of pillow fighting. Laughing like crazy, they didn't notice the door of the room open, and when Taia threw a pillow at Mel, she ducked. Behind her was the opening door, and behind the opening door was—

"Oof." Said Horatheo, a pillow smack dab in his face. Taia, still in her throwing position, laughed loudly until Tammy threw a pillow in her face.

"What." Tammy asked bluntly.

Horatheo threw the pillow at Taia, who was still laughing. She was knocked off her feet.

"If you four are done _eroticizing_… (1)" he said, his eyebrow twitching.

"I'm good." Said Julie.

"Me too." Mel added.

"What is it?" Tammy asked.

"Nice choice of words." Taia muttered.

"I need to talk with the insane one in your group." He said. The four of them looked confused, looking at each other.

"You'll have to elaborate on that." Julie said. Horatheo stared.

"I need to talk to—"

He was cut off, when two of the girls' Blackboxes incessantly rang at the same time. They dove to get their respective Blackboxes.

"Nero wants to see us." Taia said, groaning. Julie gave a lopsided smile.

"Probably for sneaking into the kitchens." She muttered. All girls laughed.

"Kitchens?" asked Horatheo.

"You're still here?" Taia asked, looking annoyed. Flattening the jumpsuits they still wore, Taia and Julie exited the room.

"Wanna come with?" Julie asked, and Tammy and Mel followed.

"Crazies." Horatheo muttered, going to his room.

* * *

"I wonder why Nero didn't call for us any time sooner."

The Fantabulous Four walked down the halls of HIVE. It wasn't very late, but hardly anyone was going around.

"I mean, we did the kitchen heist last night. Couldn't they have called us when there was sunlight?" Taia wondered.

"Maybe they only noticed the footage now." Tammy suggested. Julie shook her head.

"Nah, I disabled the stuff. Besides, I bet a computer would be reporting this stuff to HIVE, so it couldn't have been a human error." She said.

Mel froze.

"Hey, what's wrong Melon?" Taia asked her hands behind her head. Mel suddenly tugged her head band off, and threw it at Taia.

"WHOA!" she exclaimed, ducking. There was a 'woosh', and finally a shadow came out of the darkness.

A tall man in a brown trench coat laughed, and threw a knife at the four girls in the corridor.

All of them dove in different directions, Tammy falling straight at the man's feet. She backed up slightly, until Julie, who was nearest to her, threw her Blackbox at the masked man.

"Hey ugly!" she said angrily. "Get away from the nerd!"

"I resent that!"Tammy exclaimed. She jumped out of the way, backing up against the wall. Mel finally got up, running at the man. She jumped, holding her leg out to kick him in the chest. He moved aside, causing Mel to land on all fours.

Taia, who fell farthest, charged at the man as his back was turned. She slid her foot across the floor, knocking the man over. Mel stepped on his chest.

"Who wants the honors of unmasking this creep?" she asked, grinning. Tammy approached the masked man's face, when suddenly they heard a gunshot.

Another man, this time in a black trench coat, aimed the gun at them. They all froze.

The brown man threw Tammy off, and knocked all the girls to the ground. He ran to the obsidian masked man, and dropped a smoke bomb on the floor. When the hallway cleared, a few HIVE guards appeared, but the men were gone.

"What the flipping face-pies just happened?" Julie asked, picking up her Blackbox.

"I think we were just assaulted by two poorly dressed assassins." Tammy replied.

"Those men didn't seem very skilled." Mel said. The girls were about to walk away, when Nero approached them. Alongside him was Otto.

"What just happened?" Nero asked. "I was woken up by one of the guards who said that four students were being assaulted in the halls."

"Well…" Taia started. "You see sir, and Mr. Malpense, me and Julie were going to your office because you called us about the kitchen incident. Tammy and Mel came along." She said, gesturing to her other friends. "Suddenly, this guy in a brown trench coat (poorly done, by the way) attacked us. When we pinned him down an associate of his, this time in a black trench coat, appeared out of nowhere and they escaped."

"But… I never called you to my office. And what kitchen incident?" Nero asked. Julie's eyes widened.

"Er… nothing sir." She said quickly. Nero stared at her for a moment.

"Either way, you four have had enough for today. Go back to your rooms, and we'll handle the investigation." He said, shooing them away. As the four of them ran off, Otto huffed in disapproval.

"Should you really keep the truth from Miss San Augustin?" he asked.

Nero smiled.

"Her prattles with Miss Gordon have been quite interesting. She will find out when the time is right." He said, wheeling himself away from the hall.

* * *

"You said that Lacson would be there." The man in the brown trench coat said.

"I suppose he left his Blackbox somewhere, so he didn't receive the message. I don't know where he could have been though." The man in the black trench coat replied. "We have yet to hone their skills."

"As long as no harm comes to any of them." The brown masked man said, walking away.

* * *

**(1) By Deadpool :D**

**And the plot thickens...**

**Wing: What _was _on your computer anyway?**

**Me: (Rubs temples) You really don't want to know... But I think I know why Otto was looking at my computer.**

**Wing: And?**

**Me: I think he was trying to delete the rest of the blackmail pictures on my computer.**

**Wing: And what did he see?**

**Me: ... You _really_ want to know?**

**Wing: If you are resisting that much, then most likely I will be horrified by what I will hear.**

**Me: And that makes you want to see it more.**

**Wing: Exactly.**

**Me: (Whispers) **

**Wing: O_O;;;**

**Me: Exactly.**

**Wing: I can see why he went into shock.**

**Me: You're lucky you didn't really see it, like Otto did.**

**Wing: But the mental image was just _horrible_. **

**Me: Told you so.**

**Read and Review!  
**


	11. Dissociative Identity Disorder

**Hello there people of the world! A certain someone kept making guesses at the plot of this story, so I'm making this chapter to sate her. I guess. xD**

**Otto: Poor you.**

**Me: Shut it old man.**

**Wing: What is wrong?**

**Otto: School's about to start on her side of the world.**

**Me: In three days D:**

**Wing: That must really, to use the technical term, suck.**

**Me: It does. (Weeps in corner)**

**Otto: :D**

**Wing: Eh?**

**Otto: Her sadness is my joy. (Grins)**

**Wing: Because of all the torture she makes you go through?**

**Otto: Exactly.**

**Me: (Gets SMS) O_O**

**Otto: What's wrong with you?**

**Me: OMIGOD**** OMIGOD**** OMIGOD ****OMIGOD.**

**Wing: What is it?**

**Me: (Too busy flailing to notice the two)**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING.  
**

* * *

A month had passed since the Fantabulous Four came to HIVE. And since a month had passed, there was only one week left before the examinations.

"Oh sheeeeeeeeeeeeeet." Mel muttered one day, buried in her notes. She really had to review her Prac. Tech. notes before Tammy got in. The girl had promised to review Mel when she got back from her achievers class in Prac. Tech, and there was only ten minutes left before her bell rang. Instead of studying, Mel had been goofing off playing real life Tekken with some Russian kid down the hall.

"Are you done studying?"

Mel practically jumped out of her socks when Tammy turned out to be ten minutes earlier than expected. The girl had a devilish look on her face, as though she had completely expected Mel to slack off. She sat down beside Mel, laughing evilly. Witch.

"Thought I'd be coming a little later, huh?" she asked, a grin spreading on her face. Mel was terrified. Sort of. Tammy may have been the shortest in their group, but her sadism made up for her size.

"You said you'd finish at 8 pm!" Mel exclaimed, acting angry.

"That was to see if you were going to slack off until the last minute. Looks like I got good results." Tammy replied happily. "So shall we begin with the review?"

Mel grumbled. The next hour would be complete torture for her.

Until there was a commotion outside.

"LIKE HELL I WILL YOU TWAT!"

Tammy and Mel jumped. Hurrying outside, they saw two figures throwing books at each other. Either this was a show of exam rage, or it was Horatheo and Taia fighting each other again.

The two girls weren't surprised to see the Daring Duo down the hall.

"Should we separate them?" Mel asked, hoping to get out of reviewing for Prac. Tech.

"Probably. Before they get in trouble." Tammy replied, walking to the two fighters.

"OI. Taia, you should go back to reviewing for Politics and Economics before you get in trouble again." Tammy said, looking annoyed. Said girl stopped, a book held up as though she was going to throw it. Taia groaned, putting the book down and gathering the ones she'd thrown. She glared at Horatheo, before returning to her room. Horatheo sighed, gathering his books and going back to his.

"Back to the review?" Tammy said, grinning. Mel slapped her forehead.

"I was hoping you weren't going to say that." She said sadly. Tammy dragged her by the hair to their room. However, before they got in, Julie stopped them.

Hey guys." She greeted. "I need to talk to you two about something."

Mel gave a small 'yes', while Tammy glared at Mel. She returned her eyes to Julie. "What is it?" she asked.

"In your room. Can't let anyone hear about it, especially not Taia." She replied, pushing them into the room. When the door closed, Mel settled herself down among her notes.

"Taia? What's wrong with her?" she asked. "I mean, besides her being crazy and her having multiple personality syndrome—"

"Wait, what?" Tammy asked. "She has a multiple personality syndrome? How have I not heard of this?"

"You don't know?" asked Julie. She was surprised. The truth was that Tammy had been friends with Taia the longest, so it was shocking that she hadn't known.

"Oh wait, I get why!" Mel said, snapping her fingers. "You were in America when she was diagnosed. Remember, in the summer before the school reform?"

"Oh…" Tammy murmured, remembering the time she and her family went to Florida and she'd almost destroyed a man in a Donald Duck suit. The dude was coming on to her! What else could she have done? Anyway, the man turned out to be a famous pedophile in the area, and so she was hailed a hero for a day or so.

"Julie called me saying that Taia had been diagnosed with DID, which was weird according her cause she'd never experienced any of the symptoms. Except for the blackouts she'd had in the month, Taia never suspected herself of having it." Mel said.

"But let's go back to the main subject." Julie said hurriedly. "You guys heard about the fight outside, right?"

"Yeah." Tammy replied. "What about it?"

"You guys know why they fought?"

"No." Mel said.

"I know why. I was just going back to our room when I saw Horathe-twat and Taia talking in the halls." Julie said.

"And?"

"They weren't shouting." She said. Tammy and Mel's eyes widened.

"No way!" Mel exclaimed

"That's impossible!" Tammy added, looking shocked.

"Guess what they were talking about." Julie said, grinning.

"What?" the two girls asked simultaneously.

Julie was about to say something, when the room door opened and Taia jumped Julie.

"DON'T YOU DARE JUICE!" she exclaimed, using her friend's nickname. Julie tried pushing her friend off, when Taia dragged her out of the room. An awkward silence fell upon Tammy and Mel.

"Review?" Tammy asked. Mel groaned.

* * *

"WHAT WAS WITH THE ATTEMPTED RAPE DUDE?" Julie exclaimed when Taia threw her into their room. Taia looked at her awkwardly, before shaking her head.

"You can't tell anyone what you heard Julie!" she said, sounding worried. This was a start for Julie. She hardly ever hears Taia sound worried. Usually she sounded crazy, or just… _crazy_. Never worried. Or any other negative emotion.

"Is there something wrong with your brain?" Julie asked. "You're not usually this worried."

"Just don't tell anyone about what you heard, okay?" Taia exclaimed. She looked crazed.

"Er… Fine?" Julie replied, unsure of what to say.

"Promise?"

"Yeah, I promise!" Julie said, flopping onto her bed. She grabbed her notes from under her bed, and began studying as though nothing had happened. She had to clear her head.

Taia sighed, falling onto her bed and brining out her notebook. It was a very colorful book, both sides covered in anime stickers she'd printed out. The first page had a bunch of quotes to keep her motivated, and past that were the notes she'd collected. Taia heaved heavy breaths again, before facing her enemy. School.

* * *

"_Oi, dip wad." Horatheo called out. Taia, who was walking ahead of him, twitched._

"_What do you want dumbass? Need me to reassure your idiocy?" she asked, annoyed. She really had to go back to her room and study for Politics and Economics._

"_I don't need any help to reassure yours." He said. "What I do want is to talk."_

"_Aw, miss me already?" Taia asked in a mocking voice. Horatheo rubbed his temples._

"_Will your tiny brain let me speak without being insulted every five seconds?" he asked. Taia looked at her wrist, as though there was a watch there._

"_Well, it's been five seconds. Good bye bastard." She said, walking away. Horatheo ran to her, turning her around. He pushed her into a smaller hall, hoping that she would finally get the message._

"_Dude. Twat. Whatever, I really need to talk to you." He said, aggravated._

"_What is it Horathe-twat? I'm pretty busy." Taia asked, unfazed. Horatheo let go of her shoulders, sighing._

"_I need you," he said, pointing to Taia. "To help me," he then pointed to himself. "With Villainous Studies."_

_Taia stared for about ten seconds, before breaking out into raucous laughter. Horatheo squealed, before quickly covering her mouth with his hand._

"_DUDE! It's embarrassing enough that I have to ask _you_, I can't have the entirety of HIVE know that I suck at Villainous Studies."_

_It really would have been embarrassing for the boy to have been found out. The entire first year knew that he and Taia hated each other, and almost the entire school thought that he was a star student, amazing in every subject._

_Horatheo still had his hand on Taia's mouth, and since she was getting annoyed, she licked his entire palm._

"_WHAT THE FU— WHAT THE HELL?" he exclaimed. "Weirdo!"_

_Taia brushed off the insult._

"_Why do you need help from me, mister Star Student?" she asked, grinning devilishly. "You could ask anyone else, you know. Hell, you could ask Julie for goodness' sakes. You're on better terms with her than me."_

_Horatheo looked at her seriously._

"_Because we both owe each other." He said sincerely. Taia's eyes widened, and suddenly, she bit her lip. Her eyes were hidden when she lowered her head. She said nothing for an entire minute._

"_Hey, what's wrong with you, are you brain-dead?" Horatheo asked. All of a sudden, Taia gave an animal yell and attacked him. _

"_Get off me you crazy—" Horatheo shouted, pushing her into the main corridor. The two of them went to fight mode. Horatheo noticed Taia's less annoying friend Julie coming down the hall._

"_HOW DARE YOU MENTION THAT AGAIN, YOU FRICKIN' BASTARD!" she exclaimed angrily. "LIKE HELL I WILL YOU TWAT!"

* * *

_

Taia groaned. She _really_ hated Politics and Economics.

* * *

**Me: OMIGOD ****OMIGOD**** OMIGOD**** OMIGOD ****OMIGOD.**

**Otto: She's been doing this for an hour now. Don't you think we should slap her or something?**

**Wing: Well...**

**Me: HE ACTUALLY KNOWS IT! (Squeals, and runs away)**

**Wing and Otto: O_o**

**Read and Review please!  
**


	12. Neoteric

**Hehehe... Hi all... (Runs away)**

**Sorry I haven't updated in... (Starts counting) Almost a month. Shat. School started last month, so I had to start studying, do projects, and develop a reputation as a good student. But I'm back! :D (Faints)**

**Otto: Darn it.**

**Wing: Eh? **

**Otto: That means that White will start torturing me again D:**

**Me: Not today, old man. I have to rest first. (Faints again)**

**Otto and Wing: O_o**

**Wing: She must be very tired.**

**Otto: (Grins, grabs marker, and uncaps it)**

**Me: Don't you dare, old man.**

**Otto: ._.**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING.  
**

* * *

"_Kuso_ (1)."

Taia growled under her breath. The Fantabulous Four had just come out of their Biotech exam, and their brains were drained. Taia had spent some time in the wee hours of the morning just to cram for that exam, and when it came to it, she had a complete black-out of memory. She only had enough information in her head to get a passing score.

"Well that sucked." Mel muttered, trying to rearrange her notes. Tammy sighed heavily, slouching forward.

"Agreed." She replied, groaning. Only Julie hadn't whined about the exam. She was trying to recall all of the notes she read for the Practical Tech examination.

"Well, at least there's lunch." Taia suggested. "We can still study for the test that Tammy and Kazuno will _surely _ace."

Tammy rubbed her forehead.

"Come on you guys, I might not actually—"

Automatically, everyone stuck their fingers in their ears. Tammy scowled, taking a tray for lunch. They all had to balance their books, papers and food while heading to their table. Taia took charge of this, taking most of the books in one hand and her plate in the other. When they settled onto the table, she massaged her aching arm.

"Told you I should have taken some of those books." Mel said. "Those Practical Tech books are encyclopedias."

"Nah." Taia replied. "I'd like to do something for once."

Julie eyed her best friend questioningly, before digging into her lemon chicken.

Not even five minutes had passed, however, when an explosion resonated in the entire hall.

"WHAT THE—!" Tammy exclaimed, jumping out of her seat and to the direction of the ruckus. The others followed, Taia taking her ice cream along with her.

As it turned out, the explosion had taken place outside the dining hall, in the direction of Tammy's truly loved place.

"What happened?" she exclaimed to the evacuating scientists. One of them stopped beside her, being a close acquaintance of hers.

"An explosion took place in Pike's old lab." She explained. The others listened in. "It was too big to have been an experimental explosion, and besides, barely anyone uses that room anymore."

Almost immediately after the scientist explained did the Fabulous Four, along with Nero and Raven, arrive at the scene. Already HIVE guards were trying to get rid of the fire slowly spreading to the other parts of HIVE. Raven looked up, and frowned.

"An explosion." She muttered. "A remote controlled one."

The Fantabulous Four looked with awe at the assassin, never having seen her before. Sure, they had seen her silhouette in the shadows, but never in real life. To tell the truth, she was kind of hot.

"Study all camera recordings now." Nero barked at a HIVE guard. "When the fire has abated, get the Tech team to investigate immediately. Get all the information by the end of the day, and present them to me."

"Understood." The guard said quickly, running to give out the orders. Nero rubbed his temples.

"It looks as though all exams in the Technical Department will have to be postponed." He muttered. Mel gave a small cheer, while Tammy glared.

"Announce it now, Miss Trinity." He said. Shelby nodded, leaving them to their business. Nero looked at the three teachers who were left, and they all nodded, getting curious students out of harm's way. Julie took a last look, before following her friends back to the dining hall.

* * *

"I can't believe it!" Tammy exclaimed loudly. "I studied for that exam for weeks! And now it had to be postponed!"

"Yeah, I think we get the gist of the problem." Mel said, flicking the umpteenth airplane at the wall. Since the fire had spread a little to the other parts of the school, all students were required to stay in their respective Accommodation Areas until further notice. The Fantabulous Four had studied for the first hour, but they felt it was too quiet and so they just started chatting.

"But who do you think caused the fire?" Taia asked curiously. "I mean, Raven said that it was a remote controlled bomb. Who do you think…?"

"Bet'cha it was the FMA." Julie said. The FMA were Fashion-less Masked Assassins who had attacked them some time ago. Taia had snorted with laughter at the name before, since it shared initials with one of her favorite animes in the world.

"Yeah, that's the obvious guess." Taia said. "But I really have a feeling that it wasn't them."

"Then who else would be attacking HIVE?" Tammy asked. Taia shrugged.

"Well, the FMA has been attacking us so far, but that attack hadn't concentrated on us. I feel as though this was by something else." She suggested.

"Ooh, Taia just had a sudden spark of intelligence!" Mel proclaimed. Taia rolled her eyes, while the others laughed.

"I can be smart!" she said indignantly. Julie played along.

"Oh really?" she asked. "What's two plus two?"

"Twenty-two!" she blurted out 'accidentally'. Everyone burst out laughing.

When they had all regained their senses, Mel checked her wrist for the time. As it turned out, a watch hadn't been on that arm, so she roughly grabbed Tammy's arm for the time.

"I gotta go." She said. "Mister Fanchu's giving me extra lessons."

"Ooh, Mister Fanchu!" Taia exclaimed, giggling. "The hottest teacher of them all."

"True, true." Mel said, grinning. When she walked out the door, Tammy got up too.

"I want to check if the Tech department if the fire's gone." She said. "I still want to see the scene of the crime."

"Only you consider it a crime." Julie said. Tammy rolled her eyes, before leaving the room. Taia stood up too.

"Want to come to the library with me?" she asked. Julie shook her head.

"Nah. I'd rather study here than there. There's a bed here." she replied. Taia shrugged, before leaving the room. She preferred the library over her room, really. Somehow, the sense of being surrounded by books comforted her.

As she walked to her holy place, a hand came out of nowhere and grabbed her. Before she could say anything, Taia was knocked out.

* * *

"At least I got away from Betty." Horatheo muttered, plopping onto one of the chairs of his holy land. Betty had caught him in the halls, trying to get him to plot the next competition with Mel. He shouted "Look, a distraction!" just to get rid of her attention, before running to the library.

He loved the library as much as a child would love chocolate. He preferred the place over his room, which had an annoying German inhabiting it.

He looked at his surroundings happily, before getting up to get another book to his mile high pile. Since the exam had been postponed thirty minutes ago, Horatheo had two and a half hours of freedom before the next exam. Politics and Economics.

However, before he could grab Thomas More's "_Dē optimō reī pūblicae statū dēque novā īnsulā Ūtopiā__ (2)"_, he stumbled across a strange bundle at the end of the corridor of books. It was a brown sack, horribly deformed. There was a fairly large opening at the top, as though the thing in it needed air. That thing wasn't moving at all.

Putting down More's book, Horatheo cautiously approached the strange bag. He closed his eyes when he reached it, before pulling the entire thing down.

It was Twat.

"What the…" he whispered, staring at the unconscious body of his enemy. "That has got to be the weirdest place to fall asleep in."

However, he knew he was kidding with himself. No matter how crazy Twat was, there was no chance of her falling asleep in a brown sack in the library. Not when her most hated exam was up next.

Carrying the girl, Horatheo took her to the infirmary. So much for his mile high book pile.

* * *

"WHAT?"

Horatheo quickly stuck his ears into his fingers— err, his fingers into his ears. When he had checked the girls' rooms, he found Twat's three friends in one room. He told them of the situation, and ran away before he would get stampeded by the girls.

"I don't know." He said. "I just found her in this brown sack in the library, unconscious."

Mel glared suspiciously at him. "How can we trust you?" she asked. "You hate Taia, right? What if you just knocked her out?"

Horatheo looked surprised. "Okay, I get why you're suspicious, but seriously, does my face look suspicious at _all_?"

"You don't want us to answer that." Tammy said, grinning. Horatheo groaned.

"Really! I didn't—"

"I believe him." Julie admitted. The others stared. She shrugged.

"I mean, Horathe-twat may hate Taia, but what reason does he have to knock her out, put her in a sack, and bring her to the infirmary?" she asked. "It would just be a waste of his time and effort. And besides, Taia would kick him in the balls before he could touch her."

Horatheo scowled, before leaving. The nurse shooed them away too, telling them to go to study for the Politics and Economics class already.

* * *

"Was the restoration completed?" he asked, looking at his accomplice straight in the eye. The other man nodded.

"Everything is set for a green light, sir." He replied calmly. "When do you suggest we strike, sir?"

"Not now." The other replied. "We will find the right moment to bring this school down. Getting rid of the Writer, the Father, and Nero will get us started on the attack."

"Of course, sir." The accomplice replied. "Project Neoteric will be ready for activation when you say so."

The man grinned. Soon, very soon, Project Neoteric would send them to the top of the food chain. Then everyone would see. Everyone would see his ingenuity. He would finally be recognized. The man who had snuck in a bomb without anyone knowing. The man who had defeated Nero, and had taken over HIVE. The council would finally see him as a true villain.

* * *

**(1) Kuso=Damn, in Japanese. I think, anyways.**

**(2) This means, "****Of a republic's best state and of the new island Utopia." This is a book by Thomas More, more commonly known as Utopia :D**

**Ohmagosh. Didn't expect that :3**

**Does this sate you now, Dolce?**

**Read and Review please~  
**


	13. No Address For You

**Hey there! Looks like I haven't been here for two... months... (Runs away)**

**Well I'm sorry! (Is tomato'd) I was really busy with school, I had too many projects piled up, and our choir had to take part in this play, so our practices reached up to 10 pm! (Is brick'd)**

**Will you stop throwing stuff at me?**

**Anyways, since I left you at some major turning point in the story, the next few chapters will be stuff about the characters, like extra information and snippets of their lives before HIVE. So haha, no story for you yet. (Is Faceook'd)**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING.**

**Oh, and note this: I made a big mistake in chapter 11, about Tammy being Taia's oldest friend. She's NOT. It's Mel who was her oldest friend. So doth ye gets it?  
**

* * *

Name: Tala Maria B. Erine

Age: 12

Birth date: September 6, 1997

Gender: Female

Height: 5"2

Weight: 125 lbs.

Hair/Eye/Skin Color: Dark Brown/Dark Brown/Olive

Medical Status: Diagnosed with D.I.D., Asthmatic (Mild)

Address: (Withheld) (1)

Country/State of Origin: Manila, Philippines

School: Thresh-Ascunsion Academy (Formerly the Davis-Ascunsion School for Leading Women)

Parents:

Father: Jose Anton Erine

Mother: Maria Rosanna Baltazar-Erine

Occupation:

Father: Businessman

Mother: Business Consultant

Marital Status: Married

Siblings:

1. Ivan Paolo Erine (Married to Vanessa Riana Valdez-Erine)

2. Jacqueline Soledad Erine

3. Andre Tiago Erine

4. Lucia Teresa Erine

Snippets:

"Stop calling me Tala!" she exclaimed, throwing her strawberry shaped eraser at her classmate. The little girl started wailing, crying as though there was bloody murder. Taia growled angrily, before tackling her, catching the attention of her second grade teacher.

"Taia!" the older woman exclaimed, pulling her students apart. "Don't attack your classmates! It's very wrong for you to do so!"

"But she called me Tala! Everyone knows not to call me that!" she whined, glaring angrily at the girl in front of her. She grinned, faking her tears and cries.

"Tammy is younger than you!" Miss Del Rosario replied, comforting the other girl. Taia hissed at her classmate Tammy, before going to the back. She wasn't really a problem child, but she had slight anger issues. When things didn't go her way, she would either try to fix it, or get angry. She hated it whenever someone called her "Tala", and she hated it when someone embarrassed her.

Taia glared at Tammy, who was sitting in front of her. When the school bell rang, she was going to meet up with her oldest friend Mel. However, the scrawny girl who had embarrassed her stopped her.

"We're bus mates." She stated. Taia rolled her eyes.

"Duh." She said. It was true. On the first day of first grade, Tammy had come in as the new girl. She had joined their bus, and made Taia's life somewhat miserable.

"So why can't we be friends?" she asked. Taia immediately grinned widely, as though someone had tripped a switch in her brain. She loved making new friends.

"You want to be friends?" she asked. Tammy shrugged, and replied with a short "Yeah." Suddenly, Taia dragged her off to make friends with Mel.

* * *

Taia, who was eleven at the time, was browsing a book sale near the Vauxhall Bridge. She, along with two of siblings, and her mother, had visited her married brother who lived in London. While they were there, they went to the nearby book sale. Taia was only half interested in the books she picked, but she couldn't find anything else to get.

"I think I'll buy this." Taia muttered uncertainly. She was holding an Agatha Christie book, entitled "Three Act Tragedy". Her sister approached her, 'hmm'-ing. She brought out a book she'd found for her sister.

"I think you'd like this better." She said, handing Taia a silver book with a hand smashing a globe in the front.

"H.I.V.E.?" Taia asked.

"Read the description. I still have to find my book." Her sister said, floating away. Taia shrugged, reading the back of the book.

"Otto?" she wondered derogatorily. "Meh. Got nothing else to read."

So, in the end, Taia bought the silver book. When they got back to their brother's apartment, she settled herself onto the couch, to read the book. An hour and a half, and a dozen laughs later, she was screaming in delight. She'd instantly fallen in love with the compelling drama, the upbeat action, and the witty humor of the book.

* * *

Name: Juliette Kirillovna Salazar

Age: 13

Birth date: May 12, 1997

Gender: Female

Height: 5"1

Weight: 100 lbs.

Hair/Eye/Skin Color: Light Black/Dark Brown/Pale White

Medical Status: Normal

Address: (Withheld)

Country/State of Origin: Manila, Philippines

School: Thresh-Ascunsion Academy (Formerly the Davis-Ascunsion School for Leading Women)

Parents:

Father: Kirill Andrei Salazar (Deceased)

Mother: Leslie Josephine Alvarez-Salazar

Occupation:

Father: N/A

Mother: Call Center Agent

Marital Status: Widowed (Mother)

Siblings: N/A

Snippet:

"Mom?" Julie asked, tugging on the hem of her mother's blouse. The older woman put down her knife and whisk, and looked to her daughter.

"Yes dear?" she asked.

"Why is Dad such a bastard?" Julie asked. The mother gasped, before taking Julie's hand and slapping it.

"Where did you learn such language?" she exclaimed angrily. Julie just shrugged, pointing to the wall.

"The neighbors." She said bluntly. "They shout it at each other all the time. 'Specially when this tall dude comes over. I think the lady in Apartment E really hates him. Or maybe he's just really stupid. What do you think about it Mom—?" Julie stopped in her tracks, when she noticed her mother become teary eyed.

"What's wrong Mom?" she asked curiously. She barely ever showed sadness. Usually it was annoyance or anger, or something else. Never sadness. Julie was interested.

Her mom just shook her head, turning to her whisk. She sighed heavily, before facing her daughter.

"Oh, what are you still doing here? You'd better do your homework, or I'll bring out the big ruler, ha?" she said, sounding annoyed. _That_ was the mother Julie knew. She ran back up the stairs, wondering what her mother's tears were all about.

* * *

"Hi."

Recently, and for some strange, unknown reason, she'd switched buses. As her bus service provided two buses, there wasn't much communication between the two vehicular… vehicles. At least, there was barely any conversation between the riders of the bus. So Julie found it strange when she was transferred to the other side. The other bus. She barely knew anyone there, even if she'd been in the bus service for years.

When they'd picked her up, it was slightly rainy. She was in fifth grade, and she knew that there was only one other girl of her grade in that bus. Everyone else, she didn't know. Julie sighed.

When she entered, she immediately saw a fat girl at the end of the long seat. Next was an empty spot, then a girl in a headband, and a seventh grader who looked like the girl beside her. Maybe they were siblings. Anyway, when she sat down, the headband girl turned to her immediately.

"Hi." She said. "Do you know Naruto?"

"No." she said bluntly.

"Do you read Harry Potter?" she asked again. Suddenly, Julie's interest sparked. She absolutely LOVED Harry Potter. She adored it. And to some extent, she worshipped the book.

"Yes." She replied, trying to sound as uninterested as possible. In truth, she was feeling all bubbly inside.

"Cool!" Headband girl said, grinning. Suddenly, she shot on about hundreds of things, some interesting, some boring. They were mostly about books. Julie inwardly grinned. Maybe this bus wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

"Will you please shut up!"

Julie's eye twitched involuntarily. Her classmate April had been putting flowers in every single person's hair. It would have been a nice gesture, and Julie probably would have not minded, if it weren't for the fact that she was being so loud. SO. ANNOYINGLY. LOUD.

"Like, oh my gosh! You look so ugly with the flowers on, ugh! Why did I even put them there!" April exclaimed, tearing out the flower (and some of the hair) of their classmate. The girl rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the obnoxious popular kid. April continued to prance in the classroom, making rude remarks about everyone's flowers.

"_If they look so bad then why did you put them there in the first place?" _Julie thought, irritated. She looked to her friend, who rolled her eyes.

"Just ignore her." She advised, going back to doing her homework. Julie, however, could not ignore the freakishly high voice which was nearing to her table. Oh no.

"Oh-Em-Gee!" April screeched. "You look so horrible with that flower in your hair, why don't you just cut it all off?" she exclaimed, tugging the sickly green flower out of Julie's friend's hair. Soon enough, the annoyance approached Julie, commenting on her hairstyle even before she'd done anything.

"Eew, why don't you have layered hair? Yours is so boring!" she exclaimed. Julie could NOT take any more of this torture. The girl was right in her face, and so she found it the perfect time to—

SLAP!

A second after the sound resounded in the classroom, April stood there, in awe, holding her reddening cheek. Julie was standing up, breathing heavily, her hand still in the air.

"Will you please shut up!" she exclaimed. Julie sat down, and went back to reading her back as though nothing had happened.

"That's gotta hurt." Her friend muttered, looking to her book as well, not taking notice of the wailing April.

* * *

**(1) I'm too lazy to make addresses, so no address for you.**

**Read and review!**


	14. PCOS and Donald Duck

**Hello there! (dodges multiple frisbees)**

**HEY! (Throws back frisbees of DOOM) It's not my fault! D: I've been to busy with school, Artist's Circle, and stuff. GAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!**

**Be happy I updated :P**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING.  
**

* * *

Name: Tammy Bianca M. Palmiano

Age: 12

Birth date: February 8, 1998

Gender: Female

Height: 4"9

Weight: 90 lbs

Hair/Eye/Skin Color: Dark Brown/Dark Brown/Caramel

Medical Status: Normal

Address: (Witheld)

Country/State of Origin: Manila, Philippines

School: Thresh-Ascunsion Academy (Formerly the Davis-Ascunsion School for Leading Women)

Parents:

Father: Chappy Antonio H. Palmiano

Mother: Alexandra Paulina Mina-Palmiano

Occupation:

Father: News Reporter

Mother: IT Consultant

Marital Status: Married

Siblings:

1. Alberto Joaquin M. Palmiano

Snippet:

"Hi."

Tammy had been new to the bus service. In fact, she'd been new to the school. The Davis-Ascunsion School for Leading Women. Dear goodness, the name was too long for her own good. Tammy had just left her old kindergarten school, and on the first day of first grade she'd known no one.

She clambered aboard the wet bus, going to the back where there was space. The girl beside her grinned.

"Hi." she said simply. She replied with a short "Hi" as well. Tammy was about to settle in, when suddenly, the girl beside her asked, "Wanna be friends?"

Tammy stared at the girl, taller than her, yet in the same grade as her. The girl with a few teeth loose, and with her fly away hair.

"Sure." she replied, smiling.

* * *

"_Processing... Entering PCOS machine signal... Project SWITCHBACK initiated... Acquittal of virus complete..."_

Tammy smiled to herself. The coded virus she'd invented took some pretty pennies out of her poor piggy bank, but all the centavos were worth the loss. All the strange looks she'd gotten from the bookstore clerks she'd gotten as she bought those virus and computer books were paid back for. Her project had been released; she had won her battle.

Just last year had she been hearing all the propaganda, the speeches and lies the presidential candidates fed to the public. The race had finally begun for her country. And Tammy knew that the person she'd been hoping to win was losing.

Tammy, contrary to popular (school) belief (stereotype), was not just some cheerfully retarded-like girl who wore Spider man masks during exams (hough the incident was and forever will be remembered). She also had a brain, she knew how to work a computer, And she knew how to take it apart piece by piece and put it back together in less than one hour.

"_I must have gotten it from mom." _she thought to herself. She drank a swig of Cherry Coke, before watching the progress of her home-made virus.

It was simple, really. The virus merely stole the votes from other presidents, converted them and renamed them to be taken as votes to her favorite presidential candidate. Only it took a while to actually get the thing to synchronize with the PCOS machines. According to her dad, the corrupted president was getting the most votes so far, so Tammy had to do _something_.

Computers were her specialty, and she knew it. The simple whir of a CPU made her grin. Because it was likely that she had been the one who fixed said CPU in the first place.

"_Two thousand, three hundred ninety-four votes have been transferred... Awaiting next conversion..."_

Tammy grinned. This would be easier than she thought.

* * *

Name: Mel Therese S. San Augustin

Age: 12

Birth date: September 14, 1997

Gender: Female

Height: 4"10

Weight: 100 lbs/

Hair/Eye/Skin Color: Black/Dark Brown/Caramel

Medical Status: Normal

Address: (Witheld)

Country/State of Origin: Manila, Philippines

School: Thresh-Ascunsion Academy (Formerly the Davis-Ascunsion School for Leading Women)

Parents:

Father: Alfonso Marcus O. San Augustin

Mother: Mikaela Fatima Sikatuna-San Augustin

Occupation:

Father: Bank Manager

Mother: Housewife

Marital Status: Married

Siblings:

1. Armando Quintos S. San Augustin

Snippet:

"Ow!"

"Haha! I beat ya again!" the taller, older girl exclaimed, laughing maniacally. Mel whined, as she landed on the ground. Her classmate and formidable frienemy had beat her again in Sting, a classic game played by rowdy boys in kindergarten. However, them being like boys, the taller girl and Mel played it too. Every time they played, however, Taia won.

"You'll never beat me at anything Mel!" she hollered, to her joy. "You'll always be a wimpy kid!"

Mel glared her down. "I won't!" she screamed. "Imma get stronger than you, become a really cool martial artist, an' beat you at Sting! Cross my heart!"

Taia laughed at her friend/foe. "Really now?" she asked, grinning. "I can't wait!"

And Mel did. Right after she got home, she begged her mom and dad for martial arts classes. Her mother, who had been washing the dishes then, looked at her with a fake smile.

"But why would you need training dear?" she asked. Mel pouted.

"I promised Taia I would get stronger! I gotta do it cause I crossed my heart!" she exclaimed. "Please, lemme take a bunch of martial arts! I won't ask for nothing no more! You gotta let me beat her at Sting!"

At that moment, her father entered the kitchen. Apparently he had heard his daughter's appeals.

"Come on now, let her take them." he said. "It'll help her later on in life, and besides, it's better than asking for toy guns."

"Well..." Mel's mother said, looking in amusement at the puppy dog eyes of both her daughter and husband. She openly laughed.

"Fine." she said. "But you gotta make sure you'll be the best, or I'm pulling you out of the deal."

"Yes!" Mel exclaimed. _"Just you wait!" _she thought to herself _"Just you wait Taia, Imma beat you at Sting and you'll see who's boss!"

* * *

_

Mel woke up to the feeling of her body being crushed. She, instinctively, pushed the offensive weight off her body. A resounding "fwump" echoed in her hotel room, and immediately an "Ow!" followed.

"Mel!" her little brother exclaimed, pulling her blanket off her. Mel growled, before tugging the blanket back. Soon enough they ended up in a tug of war, before their mother burst in and hit them both on the head.

Soon enough, after a relaxing bath in the jacuzzi and a breakfast of hotel food, the San Augustin family ran out the hotel to get a cab to Disneyland. Their dad had been invited by an old friend who worked there to come help with accounting, and while nothing was happening they all agreed on going to the wondrous land of Disney.

After what felt like an hour's drive (for the cab driver. They'd gone through many beers on the wall before the trip ended.), they arrived at the gates of Disneyland. While their parents were paying for tickets, Mel and her brother were playing Sting. They were almost evenly matched. The game was about to end when her brother's tiny bladder acted up.

"Bathroom!" he exclaimed, running to his parents for assistance. Mel shrugged, before picking up a stray yet sturdy branch off the ground. She began to pretend she was in an arnis competition, before a man in a Donald Duck suit came up to her.

"Oh hello there." she said, holding out a hand. "I'm Mel San Augustin. Nice to meet you Donald Duck."

The duck took her hand when, quite suddenly, he pushed her against the wall.

"HEY!" she exclaimed, struggling in his grip. She knew that something was very wrong, so she did the best thing a girl could do when she was being harassed. She brought her knee to where she guessed his crotch would be. When the man doubled over, she grabbed her fallen stick and started attacking the man in the Donald Duck suit. He was lucky to have all that padding, or else he would have been severely injured.

"MEL! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" her mother exclaimed, grabbing the hand of her daughter. One of the security personnel went up to them and removed the head dress.

"Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed. The San Augustins looked to her with confusion. The police woman ignored this. Instead, she called for her partners and got the man arrested.

As it turned out, the man had been charged for several cases of sexual harassment. He was infamous for having never been caught. Until he met Mel, of course.

For the whole time they were in Disneyland, Mel was showered with praise and thank you's, most in the form of free rides and food. News traveled fast in Florida.

Mel was completely overjoyed.

* * *

**Lulz xD**

**Read and Review!  
**


	15. The Daunting Duel of the Decade

**HAH! You can't throw anything at me, I updated too fast! (Dances)**

**Otto: -_-;**

**Me: What's wrong with you?**

**Otto: I had my first dissection.**

**Me: And?**

**Otto: It FAILED. BADLY.**

**Me: Wao. **

**Otto: I KNOW! (Cries) I made it bleed TWICE!**

**Me: For a super genius, you fail dissection.**

**Otto: And I win at killing things (Cries)**

**Shelby: (In a ghostly voice) The frog will forever haunt you Otto~**

**Otto: What's she doing here?**

**Me: She's here to torture you (Grins)**

**Shelby: Yehp. (High fives me)**

**Me: (Returns high five)**

**Otto: (Facepalm)**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING.**

**WARNING: BAD WORDS. SWEARING. **

**Note: I got too lazy to make two snippets, so there's only one each xD  
**

* * *

Name: Horatheo Antonio P. Lacson

Age: 13

Birth date: September 15, 1996

Gender: Male

Height: 5"7

Weight: 130 lbs.

Hair/Eye/Skin Color: Black/Dark Brown/Fair Pink

Medical Status: Normal

Address: (Withheld)

Country/State of Origin: Manila, Philippines

School: Thresh-Ascunsion Academy (Formerly the Thresh Harris Private School for Boys)

Parents:

Father: Alex Leonardo O. Lacson

Mother: Pia Inocencia Peña-Lacson

Occupation:

Father: Senator

Mother: Housewife

Marital Status: Married

Siblings:

1. Angela Gabrielle P. Lacson

2. Ally Danica P. Lacson

3. Johnathan Rafael P. Lacson

Snippet:

"Why does she bother you so frickin' much?"

Theo groaned for what felt like the tenth time. Ever since the "Daunting Duel of the Decade", he'd been bombarded with trillions of questions, all different forms of said question. Theo brushed his friend off to run to the library. He used the excuse that he had to research something about Haydn. That was technically true, but it wasn't the real reason why he wanted to go to his "holier than thou" place of comfort.

The "Daunting Duel of the Decade", as it was so aptly named by the gossiping population of the Thresh-Ascunsion Academy, was something of a modern legend. It spoke of the only fight that had ever escalated into something school-wide. It almost reached the school paper, if it weren't for an unwilling teacher and a bribe of a few extra credit points.

The DDD was a battle between the two of the most well known enemies in the school: Horatheo Lacson and Taia Erine.

Theo rolled his eyes in dismay, as two younger students stared at him with some form of awe. He really didn't want this kind of fame. He plopped down onto one of the leather couches the school provided and opened his book about Machiavelli.

Within two seconds someone sat down, seemingly unaware of who she was sitting with.

Try as he might, Theo could not ignore his new seat mate. It was the equally-as-infamous-as-he Taia Erine, annoyance extrordinaire. In a less holy place he probably would have shoved Taia off her seat by then, but he was in the library. He could not desecrate his book temple of books.

So he sat there, trying to seem unaware of the person beside him.

He couldn't veer his angry thoughts away though, when his head flew back to the incident of a few days ago.

It was a pretty normal day considering. So far the Dynamic Duo had not crossed each other, so there were no fights. Theo hoped that the day would stay that way, because the sun was shining brightly, there were only fluffy clouds in the sky, and nothing seemed wrong.

Oh how _wrong_ he was.

The first sign was the fact that he crossed Taia. That was a problem in itself, but they could have ignored each other, completely bypassed each other without so much as a flicker. However, one of Theo's buddies was monkeying around, so he accidentally pushed Theo forward. In succession he bumped into Taia, who was chatting with her friends when some big hunk of bulk hit her. They both fell gracelessly to the ground.

"What the hell _Horatheo_?" Taia exclaimed, crawling from under her dear enemy. Theo rolled his eyes.

"Should have seen where you were going, brainless." he said aloud. His friends snickered. Taia fumed.

"Well maybe you should lose more weight so gravity wouldn't feel so attracted to you, pig." she rebutted. In his mind Theo replied with an "Oh no you didn't!", but he knew that would just result in more laughter. So instead, Theo smirked.

"Like the abs then, ass-hat?" he asked.

"You mean the ABS-olute lack of these abs of which you speak?" she replied.

"At least I've got some muscle on me unlike you, you douche." he said.

"Gaylord."

"Dog breath."

"Git."

"Fugly."

"Loser."

"Heart breaker."

At this, Theo grinned. Taia stopped in her tracks, and looked as though she'd lost. To Theo at least. In truth, the girl was ready to kill.

"WHAT THE HELL, YOU DAMN IDIOT?" she screamed. "WE FUCKING AGREED ON THIS, YOU BRAINLESS TWAT!"

She threw the nearest projectile at him, which, strangely enough was her lunch. A packed lunch of homemade lasagna.

The thing hit him and splattered his whole face with what was supposed to be saucy goodness. Theo wiped his face of the red filling, grabbed a bit of it and threw it at her weakness, her Achilles heel: Her long, waist length hair.

When it landed in the black mass which was her hair, she screamed. Taia threw the contents of her jug at him, and at that very moment another boy suddenly shouted "FOOD FIGHT!"

And all hell broke loose.

* * *

Name: Betty Anne D. Gordon

Age: 12

Birth date: September 14, 1997

Gender: Female

Height: 4"9

Weight: 90 lbs.

Hair/Eye/Skin Color: Light Brown/Dark Brown/Tan

Medical Status: Normal

Address: (Withheld)

Country/State of Origin: Los Angeles, California, USA

School: Celerity Troika Charter School

Parents:

Father: Andrew Harris J. Gordon

Mother: Elizabeth Janine Desmond-Gordon

Occupation:

Father: Dermatologist

Mother: Fashion Designer

Marital Status: Married

Siblings: N/A

Snippet:

Betty glared.

She stared angrily at the clear Plexiglas that oh-so-conveniently shielded the two unknown pilots in the cockpit. They were talking to each other, occasionally laughing, and occasionally looking back at their livid passenger.

"_If only they knew." _she thought to herself. _"If only they knew what I could do."_

Betty was, undoubtedly, a combat expert. She was black belt in taekwondo, karate, and aikido, and she taught new meat in kick boxing, shoot fighting, arnis, catch wrestling and muay thai. She was one of the most popular girls in her school, and she had the power. She had the smarts, and she had the capability to disable twenty grown men in one go.

If only that offending leather strap wasn't so pressed down on her being.

She'd found herself in this situation, right after she'd gotten home from school. Again, her chauffeur had come to pick her up late, saying that her parents had important matters to fix. She didn't believe him. Betty considered reporting the incompetent man to her parents.

When she got home, barely anyone was there. Sure, the house was big and all, and the maids must have been busy elsewhere, but the odd thing was there were no sounds. At all. No footsteps, no quite murmurs from the gossiping maids, no scrape of tables and chairs. Nothing. Betty was thoroughly confused.

She entered her room (finding her hall empty), only to find that her most precious things had been placed on top of her immaculately fixed bed. What was that about? Betty raised her eyebrow.

Her Diamond iPhone, sixth in the top ten most expensive phones, lay on top. Below it was her Moleskine notebook, a.k.a. her diary. Beside the two of them was her favorite book, the Higher Institute of Villainous Education, and her locket.

Her locket was the only thing in her life that remained a mystery. According to her adoptive parents, it was the only thing that she had with her when she was found at the footsteps of the local orphanage. There was no note, no number, no nothing on her. The orphanage did what was routine: they asked the police station for any suspicious people lurking the streets, searched for anyone with a DNA similarity in a ninety mile radius, but no one turned up. So she went to the most generous couple in LA, the Gordons.

What was in the locket was as much as a mystery as Betty was twelve years ago. There, on one side, was a baby who was clearly Betty Anne Gordon. On the other side, however, was a complete stranger. The picture had faded too much to be identified, but Betty just _knew_ that faded picture had something to do with her past. It could have possibly been her mother, or even her father.

Betty replaced the locket on her neck. She hadn't worn it for years, since the thing had stopped matching her clothes years ago. However, she stored the thing in her jewelry box, which was under lock and key and hidden in a safe behind her dresser. She pocketed her diary, her cellphone and she held her book, remembering how she got the amazing piece of literature.

The back story was quite simple, really. There had been a book sale in her school, and since everyone had better things to do most of the students had ignored the event. Betty, having sense, walked around for a while before randomly picking a burnt red book with bold text. Her move had turned out to be one of the best things she'd done so far.

Betty was thinking of how she would bring the book around, when she was knocked out.

That was how she got to the strange helicopter thing, glaring at the pilots.

* * *

**Read and review please!**


	16. Of Flying Volleys and Kisses

**Hullo there! (Is looking content and... normal)**

**Otto: HOLY CRAP WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOUUUUUU? (Shakes White frantically, before her head falls off)**

**O_e **

**Me: xD HAH! YOU FELL FOR IT! xD I KNEW YOU CARED!**

**Otto: OF COURSE NOT! D:**

**Wing: He's in denial.**

**Me: Why? Is he having PMS or something?**

**Otto: I'M NOT A WOMAN! (Runs around like a headless chicken)**

**Me: O_o Even for Otto, that's retarded.**

**Wing: I think it had something to do with the Red Bull he's been drinking... O_O**

**Me/Wing: (Runs away before Otto does anything stupid)**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING.  
**

* * *

Name: Claire Louise D. Teoxon

Age: 15

Birth date: December 9, 1994

Gender: Female

Height: 5"4

Weight: 130

Hair/Eye/Skin Color: Dark Brown/Brown/Tan

Medical Status: Asthmatic

Address: (Withheld)

Country/State of Origin: Manila, Philippines

School: Thresh-Ascunsion Academy (Formerly the Davis-Ascunsion School for Leading Women)

Parents:

Father: Larredo Anthony S. Teoxon

Mother: Ma. Catherine Donato-Teoxon

Occupation:

Father: Editor-in-Chief of _L'amour de la Cuisson Française _

Mother: Head Librarian of Thresh-Ascunsion Academy (Formerly the Davis-Ascunsion School for Leading Women)

Marital Status: Divorced

Siblings: N/A

Snippet:

Soccer. The word gave Claire shivers of good thoughts. She _loved _it. Well, she had to admit she liked it because the soccer captain in her old school had been very, utterly hot, but as she continued her crush waned and her love for soccer grew.

When she was taken to HIVE, she'd gone into a small depression. Sure, HIVE was wonderful and yes, she had to admit it had perks, but it didn't care much for soccer. She was only one of the few people in the school who actually _liked_ the sport. She made offhand hints to it to the teachers a few times, but most of the time she was told to return to her studies. Dammit.

The other thing she missed was her old school. It wasn't the best in the world, but it was still home. Rumors spoke of the school joining with Thresh Academy when their funds suddenly disappeared. Claire didn't know the details, but from what she heard the collaboration was successful. Good. She didn't want to see the old place go down.

One comfort that _did _ return, after a year in HIVE, was soccer.

Apparently, the teachers were a lot more perceptive than she thought. And being one of the top students helped. It probably helped her be heard, because when the next year of HIVE came around, indoor soccer was placed as one of the extra-curricular activities, alongside water polo and competitive swimming.

"YO CLAIRE!" one of her teammates hollered. "Keep daydreaming and I'm gonna kick the ball at your head!"

Claire grinned, before rolling her eyes. "It takes talent to kick right, Fe, and that's something you don't have!" she replied. Fe growled sarcastically, before motioning for Claire to come along. Their bear of a coach called them over for a meeting before the practice game.

There was something of an "unfriendly competition" between the four streams, mostly between the Alpha and the Henchman stream. So much, that most of the sports events within the Higher Institute of Villainous Education were between the two streams. Today was just a practice game between them, but as always it would be fierce and animalistic (with the Henchman stream, anyway).

After the short meeting, the Alpha team went onto the indoor soccer field. The coach held back the team captain for a moment.

"Watch out," he said to Claire. "their worst player Vasily is in the infirmary, so they actually got someone _decent_ to replace him this time." the coach scowled, before motioning at the muscular boy at the tail of the big group. For anyone normal it would have been hard to tell who was who in the large mass of muscle, but normality was something lacking in the entire school. Claire nodded, before joining her team on the field.

* * *

The game had heated up quickly, and even though it was only a practice the Henchmen seemed bent on killing every single enemy on the field. Already three people were injured in some way or another; they had gotten penalty kicks for it, yes, and they had scored, but it seemed to Claire that they were playing for their blood. Again, it may have been her paranoia speaking, but it seemed to her that the boy who had replaced Vasily was the one egging them on.

Due to her short reverie as she was bringing the ball to the goal, she had been purposely forced off her feet by the replacement. Instead of falling over and breaking something as expected though, she did a recovery roll to prevent injury, and back flipped just to annoy her opponents.

"PENALTY!" everyone shouted at once. The referee blew the whistle at the replacement. The boy growled, elbowing Claire before returning to his post as goalie. Claire grinned. This game would take longer than she expected. This was going to be _fun_.

* * *

"GO CLAIRE!" everyone screamed, before lifting her up. They had won the practice game! After the one hour of fierce battling ("playing" would be too soft a word for the battle they experienced), the Alpha team stayed on the field for a short while, freely kicking balls into the goal. Claire was joking around with a few of her team mates, before Fe called her.

"Hey captain!" she said. "Show us that EPIC kick you did!"

Claire grinned, before heading back onto the field. The kick, the ethereal flying volley, had been the shot that determined their win. The ball had been flying high in the dome, and it seemed as though it was going to hit her head. But in a great feat of gymnastics Claire had jumped five feet high and did a flying volley in midair. Just to annoy the Henchmen.

Fe kicked the ball from far away. The kick wasn't as high as the one in the game, but Claire could cope. She jumped, kicked, and accidentally sent it flying at her teacher's face.

Now, it was probably just a coincidence that Mister Malpense and Fanchu were walking in the dome at that very moment Claire performed the kick. Also, it must have been a coincidence that the former had been right in front of the latter.

But it probably wasn't a coincidence that Otto had been hit on the head, making him fall forward right on his best friend's lips—er, _face_. The inner fan girl in Claire's head squealed with excitement, but only one expression registered on her face. Utter shock. Did her teachers just kiss because of the ball she _kicked_? According to the look of shock and glee on Fe's face, yes. Yes she did.

Dear _gawd_, Claire was dead when they recovered from the incident.

* * *

**BY THE WAY, the shounen-ai scene there was inspired by Tamminx. I HAD TO CLEAR THIS UP BEFORE YOU GUYS BROUGHT YOUR MOBS TO MY DOOR. TAMMINX'S DOOR IS ON THE RIGHT.**

**(For those who _do_ enjoy BL, :D)**

**Read and review please!  
**


	17. Glasses, Electives, and Orange Sparkles

**I AM SOOOO SORRRYYYY! (Dodges bricks, tomatoes, lawn chairs, choir books, and sugar cubes) I've been on a Glee binge ever since forever, so I haven't had any time for HIVE! I FEEL SO GUILTY! (Dies in shame. Ghost-Replica floats into view)**

**So yeah... Will this chapter sate thee? Anyways, because of Glee, there will be Glee references, no doubt about that xD**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING.  
**

* * *

"Hey Taia."

Julie waved her hand in front of Taia's face. Said girl snapped out of her daze, and gave a small "Nuh?"

"Dude, you've been a lifeless automaton ever since last week!" Mel whispered. "What's wrong with you? You got the flu or something?"

"I doubt we would catch any outside diseases in this place." Tammy replied. "But yeah Taia, it's like you've been asleep while you're awake. Something getting to you?"

Taia merely shrugged. She rubbed her eyes vigorously, leaning forward onto her table. She was squinting already by the time Otto noticed anything strange.

"Miss Erine is something the matter?" he asked calmly, as he put down his laser pointer and left his PowerPoint on the web of petty revenge. "You're just in the second row and yet you look like you're trying to see a car plate number a mile away."

"I just can't see it, sir." She said dejectedly, before slumping onto her table. "Does HIVE offer optical services?"

Otto frowned a little, before sighing a little. "I can't be really sure… Tell you what: go visit the infirmary right now before you bother Wing with your squinting. Ask them if they offer optical services, and get a pair of glasses if you can." Otto winked, and smiled. "I can't have my radioactive little ball of nuclear energy suddenly losing its spark."

Taia grinned, before accepting a slip from him. Her other friends waved good bye, as she left the class room.

Once she exited the room she frowned deeply. She massaged her temple before heading off to the infirmary wing.

When she got there Taia walked into the large bulk that was Horatheo Lacson.

"Dude!" she exclaimed, stumbling. Horatheo tripped too, swearing. The nurse in charge shot them an annoyed look, before making Horatheo sit on the nearest bed. He pointed to Taia, making her sit in a chair to wait for her turn.

"How'd you get into trouble this time?" Taia asked, smirking. Horatheo rolled his eyes.

"You would twist your wrist too, if you fell from ten feet in the air onto a mat that wasn't as soft as its advertisement said it would be." He replied scathingly. Taia raised her eyebrow.

"Unassisted rock climbing. Thought I could do it." He said. "The exercise was only for fourth years but I told Mr. Fanchu I wanted to try." Horatheo shrugged. "That's why I wasn't there in Villainy Studies. Mr. Fanchu wanted to see what I could do, since I scaled the rock climbing wall in only one minute last time. He honestly thought I would only reach five feet. Said I was pretty good, even when I was on the ground, howling in pain. I'm actually surprised I only got a wrist injury. I could have gone worse— HEY!" he exclaimed, when he saw Taia pretending to be asleep. He tried to make a go at her, when the nurse made him sit down.

"Not until I finish up with you." He said, getting a sling for Horatheo's arm. Taia grinned.

"See, that was me not caring anymore." She said.

"So you cared at first?" he asked, smirking too. Taia scowled.

"Hardly." She replied. When Horatheo was good to go, he made kissy faces, to which Taia replied with her middle finger. Luckily enough, the nurse had already gone away by then, after shooing away Horatheo.

Taia swore vehemently under her breath as she watched her enemy retreat. She went up to the nurse again.

"Does HIVE offer optical services?" she asked.

* * *

"I'm sorry, but I can't take you seriously with those glasses."

Mel just kept on gawking at Taia's new glasses. Apparently, HIVE _did_ offer optical services, since Taia now donned orange and black glasses (1). She grinned, before pushing them up the bridge of her nose. The light shone in them in such a way that they couldn't see her eyes. Tammy smirked.

"Nice one, Erine." She said. Taia just shrugged casually.

They all stepped into the Stealth and Evasion classroom, thus bumping into a taller, slightly built female.

"He— Ouch! Grilled Cheesus, darling (2)!" she exclaimed, as she accidentally stumbled. Taia was caught by Julie, who had been directly behind her.

"Dear goodness, I'm sorry— OH! TAIA!"

Claire smiled brightly, hugging her old friend. Taia giggled.

"I was wondering where you'd gone in this school!" she said, rather than asked. "Oh you know, studying, doing crap, soccer. Business as usual." Claire replied.

"Oh, but I did want to tell you something before, but I never really had the time to find you…" Claire tried recalling, but at that very moment Shelby walked up to them.

"Hurry along now, Miss Teoxon, or you'll be late for Laura's class. Miss Erine, get in as well." She said, shooing Claire away. She nodded, before asking quickly, "You meet me at the soccer field when classes end, okay?"

Taia nodded too, before hurrying in the classroom. Claire waved goodbye, before shouting, "Nice glasses, by the way!"

Taia grinned, before taking her seat beside Mel. She saw a few looks to her glasses, before hearing a few whispers behind her.

"Yeah, nice glasses Erine. Totally matches your idiot look." She heard Betty Gordon mutter. The other two unimportant friends sniggered, whereas Horatheo just looked away. Taia was surprised to see him disgruntled. Instead of inquiring further, however, she just shrugged, before facing Shelby in front.

* * *

Everyone exited the class, rushing to line up for lunch. Betty and her cronies lingered behind, arguing. Well, two of their number was arguing, anyway.

"You seem so placid nowadays, it's creeping me out." Betty said. Theo was about to interrupt, when she plowed on. "I mean, you used to be the person who would always bring up a fight with that Maia—"

"Taia."

"Whatever." She said. She breathed, allowing Theo a moment to speak.

"Listen Bett, it's none of your concern." He said. "I just don't—"

"It _is_ my concern." She said sternly. "You're my friend now, and if something's wrong it's my duty to help."

Betty placed her hand softly on his bound arm. Theo sighed, looking down at the cast. She had been the first to sign it with her incredibly sparkly gold pen. Sure, Betty could be an ass, but she was an amazingly sweet and caring person when it came to it.

"The only reason I keep dueling with Mel is because I find her challenging." She continued. "I know you have the same mentality as me when it comes to Taia. Very competitive. So if you're becoming docile then of course I'll become concerned. So if there's a problem, you could just tell me."

Theo genuinely smiled, before shaking his head. "_Nothing _happened, Betty (3). Honestly." He added, when he saw her incredulous look. Said girl just shrugged.

"Well, I know you'll tell me if there _is_ a problem so," Betty grinned. "I give up. For now."

They walked out of the classroom. Theo smirked.

"What are you thinking now, master of subtlety?" Betty asked.

"I was just thinking… if you took away the different hairstyles and a few other things then you and Mel would look and act exactly alike." He replied. Betty immediately elbowed him in the ribs.

"_You_…" she said, giving him a mock glare. Theo laughed. "Injured man here!"

Betty rolled her eyes, before dragging him off to the dining hall. "We'll only get to eat salad if you keep dragging your feet like that!" she exclaimed, running off with his arm in hers.

* * *

"What were you supposed to tell me again?" she shouted to Claire, who was on the indoor soccer field. Claire scored a goal, before getting the ball back and running to Taia. She panted a bit, before saying one word.

"Electives." She said. Taia had to process what she had said first, before, "What?"

"Electives." Claire repeated. "Like clubs back in ol' Ascuncion. Otto should announce them tomorrow, but I just wanted to give you a heads up beforehand."

Taia raised her eyebrow. Claire continued.

"There are two categories: Co-curricular and extra-curricular. The co-curricular has to do with the evil stuff: Advanced Technology, Applied Biotech, Self Defense, Gun Mastery, that stuff. Extra-curricular is what you'd usually find in normal schools, like Soccer," she said, gesturing to the field. "Culinary, Literature, etcetera."

"Might as well imagine what could come up tomorrow." Taia said, grinning. "How many can we take?"

"As many as you want, as long as they don't conflict with each other. They usually happen after classes or during weekends so," she shrugged. "But make sure you choose now and sign up fast tomorrow, because the most popular ones are Gun Mastery, Self Defense, and Evil Ray Club. No, really." She added, as she saw Taia's grin.

"Will I be seeing you in soccer— No wait, you're horrible when it comes to your feet, never mind (4)." Claire chuckled. Taia stuck out her tongue.

"Whatever." She said childishly. Claire smirked.

"Don't forget; sign up fast and quickly, because slots go out fast!"

* * *

As they all settled down for Villainy Studies, Taia and company huddled in a circle.

"Remember, no disclosing the electives you chose until lunch, which is right after this period." Julie said. Everyone nodded, as Otto came to the front. He pulled the remote to the projector out of his pocket, and brought out a few cans filled with markers.

"Okay, instead of the usual lesson today, I want to discuss you electives." He said. Loud whispering began immediately. Otto motioned for everyone to quiet down as he explained.

"It seems as though most of you guys know what electives are, but for those who have absolutely no inkling whatsoever, I will elaborate. Electives are extra classes that will not only provide you information for your possibly villainous career, but it can also define your personality. These extra classes will take place after the actual school day, or during the weekend, as the schedules say above their names." Otto pulled up a picture of all the different electives, lined up in two lines on the wide whiteboard.

"You can have as many as you like, but do not have electives that will conflict with one another. Do not take electives just because your friends are. And do _not_ take an elective that you will probably find extremely hard, just so you can seem macho in front of everyone else. The rest of the period will be allotted for you to read the summaries of each elective and for you to choose one. Do not forget to add the information to your Blackboxes when you finish signing up."

Otto sat back on his seat and began grading the essays they had done on effective evil laughs the last week. Straight away Taia, Julie, Tammy and Mel went up to the white board, along with a few other students, and signed up. They all went to Gun Mastery first; they all grinned at each other, before lining up to write their names. Taia dug something out of her pocket as she waited, and once she wrote her name she stuck a shiny orange star next to it. Julie raised her eyebrow, before Taia mouthed, "Later."

Taia stayed the longest, comparing schedules and signing up for what seemed like a dozen electives. When she returned to her seat with not only a wide smile but a list of electives a few people were staring in amazement. She ignored all of them, however, as she keyed in all her choices.

Class had ended, so Taia started packing up and chatting with her friends. When Otto called her to the front she looked a little puzzled, before leaving her friends.

"You signed up for what looked like a dozen electives, Taia." He said. "Are you sure you'll be able to cope with that _and_ your academics?"

"Of course, sir." She said happily. When Otto looked skeptical, she merely sighed.

"I want to make a mark, sir, but I know when enough is enough. Don't worry, Mister Malpense; I've got it all under control. I'm glad for your concern though." She said cheerfully. Otto gave a short whistle, before placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sure you do, Miss Erine." He earnestly said. Taia beamed, before rushing off to meet her friends.

"I'm sure you do…" he muttered again, feeling a slight pain in the head as Taia left.

* * *

"I'll go first: Self Defense, Melee Weaponry, Martial Arts Theory, Applied Tactical Education, and Gun Mastery. You?"

"Advanced Technology, Hackers Organization, Gun Mastery, Evil Ray Club— Don't laugh, the club's interesting! And Applied Biotechnology."

"I'm taking Vehicular Mastery, Literature, Foreign Languages, Persuasive Speaking, and Gun Mastery."

"Gun Mastery, Culinary, Theater, Glee Club— Shut up Mel, Literature, Self Defense, Martial Arts Theory, Dance Club, Persuasive Speaking, and Foreign Languages."

Everyone stared at Taia.

"Dude, twelve electives?" Mel exclaimed. "Eleven." Tammy said. Mel ignored her. "We only have seven friggin' days in a week!"

"Don't worry, I've got it all planned." Taia replied, smiling. She fiddled with her Blackbox a bit, before pulling up a picture of her daily schedule.

"Gun Mastery on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 4:30 to 6:00, Culinary on Mondays and Thursdays at 4:00 to 5:30pm, Theater on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 7:00 to 8:00, Glee Club on Thursdays and Saturdays, 7:00 to 8:00 on Thursday and 1:00 to 4:00 on Saturday, Literature on Fridays from 4:00 to 5:30, Self Defense on Mondays, from 6:00 to 7:00, Martial Arts Theory on Fridays from 6:00 to 7:00, Dance on Saturdays and Sundays from 4:30 to 5:30, Persuasive Speaking on Sundays from 2:00 to 3:00 pm, and Foreign Languages from 3:00 to 4:00 on the same day. Luckily enough Persuasive Speaking and Foreign Languages are in the same room."

She wasn't even breathless when she finished. In fact, she looked very accomplished and happy.

"Wow. That actually makes sense." Tammy said with her jaw hanging. She, Julie and Mel merely stared at her schedule, looking for any error on it, any slip-up at all. There were none.

"Are you planning to eat or sleep at all this year?" Julie mocked. Everyone laughed, recognizing the quote from the third book of Harry Potter.

"This schedule ensures not only recognition in HIVE, but additional education for my career, whether I become villain extraordinaire, or the successful owner of the most famous bakery in the world and the most sought after Broadway actress in the business (5)." She said.

"Not only that, I believe I will have enough time for homework and goofing off, as long as I stick to the schedule!" Taia added. Suddenly, everyone groaned.

"Here comes Timetable Taia (6)!" Julie said sarcastically. Whenever Taia scheduled things like this it went well for a bit, until something completely blew it off. Timetable Taia was okay, until she got stressed about something. _Then_ everyone felt it to be the time to punch her in the face. Unbeknownst, Taia, slumped forward on the table, as though she suddenly fell asleep. Her sleep was broken, however, when Betty and her friends came up to them.

"Ooh, looks like Douche Bag and company have their work cut out for them!" she said, walking up to their table. Taia still had her schedule floating in the air, when Betty scanned it through. A look of shock flashed on her face, quickly replaced by an evil sneer. Horatheo caught what she was staring at, and then his look of surprise turned into one of distaste too.

"Looks like this little ducky's got herself tied up quite a bit! Twelve electives? Sure you can take the heat?" Horatheo stuck her face in front of the schedule.

"Eleven electives, and at least I have the guts to try, unlike you, Mister Horatheo Lacson, who's too wimp to stick his pretty little neck out!" Taia suddenly shouted, looking pissed. No, she wasn't pissed. She was _infuriated_. Horatheo stared at her worriedly, before she stormed off.

"Oh, and by the way," she added, when she was far away. "I'm not your ducky, damn it!"

Horatheo scoffed in surprise rather than indignation. Julie followed her friend, bringing Taia's things along. The other two girls followed suit.

"What's wrong with her?" Betty shouted at their retreating backs. There was no reply.

* * *

"Oh yeah, by the way…"

Classes had ended, and they all began packing up for the day. Before he left, Nigel added that electives would go into effect the next Monday, so Taia began talking quickly about all her plans that day. _That_ reminded Julie of something she'd seen when they were choosing electives.

"Dude, what was the orange sparkly star sticker of doom about?" she asked casually. She tried to sound relaxed, as she didn't want to bother Taia. Ever since her outburst she and the others had tried to be normal around her, but everyone was still curious about what had happened. Julie didn't want to ask about that, though. That was a story for another day.

"Oh, that!" Taia said merrily. She was stubborn and a bit scary a few lessons ago, until she'd sneaked in a nap after their quiz in Laura's class. Now she was as happy as a kid with a really sugary, humongous and colorful lollipop.

"See, whenever I can, I put those stars by my name, because they symbolize great things, and as you know symbolism is something very important to me (7)." She said. Julie raised her eyebrow, but Taia plowed on.

"Orange, because it's my favorite color. The star, because I will become the greatest of the great. I will surpass everyone and become the brightest star in the sky. The sparkles, because they make me shine, like the electives will. All in all, I put sparkly, star-shaped, orange stickers beside my name, because I will become famous, great, and rich, if I open my bakery shop right beside Broadway. Yes, if I don't pursue villainy, I will open a three story bakery right beside or on the streets on Broadway, in New York! All the famous people will come and go, leaving their own sparkles of prominence in my shop, attracting more customers. I will shine above the rest, and become the brightest star in the sky!"

Julie stared. Taia merely grinned, as she slung her body bag on her arm and strutted out of the room. Julie shook her head in disbelief before following her friend out of the room.

* * *

**(1) These were the colors of my first ever glasses :D**

**(2) GLEE!**

**(3) In reference to Aphrodisiac xD**

**(4) True story.**

**(5) That is only a _very_ vague explanation of my dreams :D**

**(6) That is also a reference to myself.**

**(7) GLEEGLEEGLEEGLEEGLEE!**

**Notice I gave Betty redeeming qualities, since as a person she can't be too bad. he only reason why you gys probably wouldn't like her is because she's the rival of one of the main characters, and you are _obligated_ to like the main characters. **

**Oh, and if you want to see Taia's schedule fixed up in a chart, don't hesitate to ask :D  
**

**READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!  
**


	18. A Little Note to Amuse

Good day, one and all! Happy new year to any of you readers who came to see if I actually posted anything _significant _at all! Hello world!

I'm pretty sure I lost a LOT of readers since the day I stopped writing for the H.I.V.E. fan fiction archives, so let me cut to the chase for you avid readers out there: I am NOT continuing Neoteric. Nope. Nada. Zip. Too bad, sucks to your asmar.

_However, _I _do_ have a little surprise for you.

Now that I've finished reading Aftershock (Oh my fucking GAHD), I am going to present the work of fiction that I was working on in the previous year. Dear reader, please imagine a drum roll, as I dramatically present… **Neoteric 2.0!**

(Yes, I got lazy with the name— don't judge me!)

So yes, I have revamped, rewritten, and practically reformed the story of Neoteric into something a little more… _Epic. _It's a little wilder, a little more daring, and a tad bit offensive to all those conservatives out there. Well, to all those naysayers out there, I say, SUCK IT.

Anyways, now that I've gotten you into quite a stir, let me give you some conditions: I will only post this story if I get a reaction (read: a review) from any of my old readers out there.

NO, NOT YOU DOLCE ENTENTE. I'D RATHER I GET A REACTION FROM SOMEONE WHO CAN'T TEXT ME DIRECTLY AND WHO DOESN'T LIVE DOWN THE ROAD.

Everyone _else _ out there. If I get any reaction _at all, _only _then_ will I post Neoteric 2.0.

Don't forget to read the A/N in 2.0's first chapter, if ever I post it. It contains a LOT of details you _may _want to pay attention to, to understand the flow of the story.

Well, I hope I've caught your attention(s). Good day to you all, cheers, and hope to see you in Neoteric 2.0!

Signed,

Replica (Seriously, I have GOT to change my name here)


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